ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Cosmina Maria Simion, Alina Tace and Petruș Partene, WH Simion & Partners
On the operational side, among other requirements, operators that are not Romania-based companies are required to appoint a Romanian legal or natural person to act as their authorised representative before the
the type of land-based games operated. The licence tax may range from EUR15,000 per year for bingo games, to EUR200,000 per year for fixed-odds bet- ting. Land-based operators must also pay an annual authorisation tax, which is calculated by reference to the following criteria. • Operator’s revenue – in the case of betting activi- ties the authorisation tax represents 25% of the operator’s revenue (for fixed-odds betting, mutual betting and counterpart betting), while for bingo broadcast on television the authorisation tax represents 23% of the operator’s revenue, but for all types of games this tax can be no less than a specific amount depending on the type of game (EUR240,000 for fixed-odds betting and EUR150,000 for bingo on television). • Number of locations/gaming means – land-based casinos incur an authorisation tax of EUR70,000 per table (in Bucharest) or EUR40,000 per table (outside Bucharest), and each slot machine with unlimited winnings requires an authorisation tax of EUR6,000. For bingo performed in gaming halls, the operator is bound to pay an authorisation tax of EUR7,500 per location plus 5% of the value of the printed cards mandatorily purchased from the Romanian National Printing House. The legislation also imposes certain special taxes for the following categories of land-based gambling: • an entry fee for casinos (RON50) and poker clubs (RON30); and • a vice tax for unlimited-winnings slot machines and video-lottery machines of EUR1,000 per post (terminal) per year. As a separate payment obligation, organisers of land- based games of chance are required to pay a respon- sible gambling contribution which has been increased as of 6 October 2023 from a flat fee of EUR1,000 per year for all types of land-based games of chance to a separate mechanism where the responsible gam- bling contribution is determined based on the type of game of chance in question. In this sense, by way of example, the responsible gambling contribution for
Romanian state authorities. 4.7 Application Timing
In accordance with the regulation, the complete licens- ing documentation must be submitted to the regulator at least nine business days before the ONJN Supervi- sory Committee’s meeting. The Supervisory Commit- tee is the body within the ONJN that approves licence applications during its periodic meetings, which are generally organised twice a month. Pursuant to GEO 77/2009, licence applications will be resolved within 30 days from the date of submission of the complete documentation. However, consider- ing that the ONJN has the competence to request any additional documents or information deemed neces- sary, in practice the licensing and authorisation pro- cedure generally exceeds the initial 30-day timeframe provided by the law. 4.8 Application Fees The legislative framework imposes the obligation to pay an administrative fee of EUR600 for the review of the licensing documentation and EUR250 for the review of authorisation documentation for land-based games of chance. For an online licence, the applicant is required to pay an administrative fee of EUR3,500 for the review of the licensing documentation. Both land-based and online operators are also required to pay a EUR10,500 fee for the issuance of the licence. Furthermore, the application for a Class 2 licence is subject to payment of an administrative fee of EUR10,500 for the issuance of such licence. 4.9 Ongoing Annual Fees Annual Fees for Land-Based Gambling In the case of land-based gambling, licensed opera- tors are required to pay an annual licence tax in the form of a flat fee of a specific amount, depending on
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