Romania Online Casino Licence Classes Explained 2026

Romania online casino licence classes split into three groups under the National Gambling Office (ONJN): Class 1 for operators that face players directly, Class 2 for the suppliers behind them, and Class 3, a state monopoly held by the Romanian National Lottery. If you plan to run an online casino, sportsbook, or poker room for Romanian players, you need a Class 1 licence. This guide sets out what each class covers, how the licence and the annual authorisation fit together, what the classes cost, and which activities a Romanian licence does not reach. For the wider framework, start with the Romania online gaming licence overview.

Romania online casino licence classes at a glance

ONJN structures the Romania online casino licence classes under Government Emergency Ordinance 77/2009. The regime sorts every licensed business into one of three classes, and the class depends on what the business does rather than on the games it offers. Class 1 is for companies that take bets and wagers from players. Class 2 is for companies that supply those operators. The law reserves Class 3 for the Romanian National Lottery, placing it outside the commercial market.

The table below maps each class to the business that holds it. Read it before you plan your corporate structure, since the class you need sets your fees, your guarantees, and your reporting duties from day one.

You can confirm the current class definitions and the licensed-operator register on the ONJN official website. Because most private applicants fall under Class 1 or Class 2, the rest of this guide focuses on those two.

Romania online casino licence classes: Class 1 B2C operator licence

Class 1 is the licence you need to offer games of chance directly to Romanian players. It is a single class that spans several products. Online casino games, slots, live dealer tables, fixed-odds and pool sports betting, cash and tournament poker, bingo, and lottery-type games all sit under it. So an operator running a casino and a sportsbook under one brand does not need two separate operator classes. Both activities fall within Class 1.

The scope has a firm limit. A Class 1 licence authorises play by people located in Romania, and nothing else. It is not a passport to other European markets, and it does not let an offshore brand bolt Romanian traffic onto an existing licence. If you want to serve players in another country, you apply to that country’s regulator as well. For the exact eligibility and document set, see the Romania gaming licence requirements.

Class 2: the B2B supplier and support licence

Class 2 is the licence for the businesses that stand behind a licensed operator. It covers software and platform providers, hosting services, payment service providers, testing and certification labs, audit firms, and affiliates whose pay depends on player activity. If your company supplies a licensed Romanian operator and earns from that supply, you most likely need a Class 2 licence rather than a Class 1.

Affiliates sit in a grey area worth checking early. An affiliate paid on a revenue-share or participation basis falls inside Class 2. A publisher paid a pure flat fee for a banner or a sponsored article may not. Because the boundary turns on how the money is earned, confirm your model with ONJN or an adviser before you sign a media deal. The Romania Class 2 B2B licence overview walks through the supplier categories in detail.

How Romania online casino licence classes and authorisations work

Romania issues gambling rights through two separate documents, and operators often confuse them. The first is the organising licence, the licenta de organizare. It is the base permit, and it runs for 10 years. The second is the operating authorisation, the autorizatia de exploatare. It is annual, and it is what actually lets you take bets.

For online gambling the authorisation is efficient in one respect. You need only one operating authorisation for all the activities run on the same gambling platform, and that platform can connect to several internet domain names. So a single Class 1 authorisation can support more than one consumer brand, as long as they run on the same authorised platform. Whether separate brands trigger separate responsible-gambling contributions or guarantees is a structuring question, and the answer shapes your budget. Raise it in a consultation before you register the domains, not after.

How Class 1 and Class 2 depend on each other

The two classes are linked by design. A Class 1 operator in Romania may only work with suppliers that hold a Class 2 licence. That rule reaches the whole supply chain: your platform, your game content, your payment processor, and your testing lab each need their own Class 2 authorisation. When you plan a launch, you are not just licensing your own company. You are checking that every partner is licensed too.

This has two practical effects. First, an operator that builds its own games in-house and then supplies them to other brands usually needs a Class 2 licence for that supply activity, on top of its Class 1. Second, if a supplier’s Class 2 licence is suspended, the operators that rely on it face a compliance problem straight away. Because these scenarios turn on your exact corporate setup, treat them as consultation questions rather than assumptions.

Romania gaming licence fees by class

The Romania online casino licence classes carry very different fees, so the class you hold drives your cost of entry. The figures below are indicative and move with the annual state budget, so confirm each one against the current ONJN schedule before you file. The annual charge on a Class 1 operator is the item that changes most often, because it is tied to a tax on gross gaming revenue with a high yearly minimum.

These headline figures do not capture the full budget. A local entity, mirror servers on Romanian soil, certified testing, segregated player accounts, and compliance staff all add cost. For the complete picture by class, see the full Romania licence fee breakdown, which sets out every line item.

Requirements to hold each class

Both commercial classes share a base set of conditions, then diverge on scale. The applicant must be established in the European Union, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland. A foreign operator must also set up a Romanian subsidiary or a permanent establishment for tax, and appoint a local representative. You can read about Romania’s EU membership on the official EU country page, which explains why EU or EEA establishment matters here.

Beyond the entity, ONJN checks the people and the technology. Directors and beneficial owners pass criminal and fit-and-proper vetting. The operator holds player funds in segregated Romanian bank accounts, and mirrors game and transaction logs on servers inside Romania when its primary servers sit abroad. Handling the iGaming corporate setup in Romania early keeps the later stages on schedule, and the ONJN application steps set out the filing order.

What a Romania licence does not cover

The limits of each class matter, because a scope mistake here gets expensive fast. A Class 1 licence covers Romanian-located players only, so it grants no access to other EU markets on its own. An operator expanding across Europe needs a separate licence in each target country. The point is set out in full in the guide to a Romania licence and EU market access.

Two other boundaries matter. A licence issued elsewhere, including an MGA licence from Malta, does not authorise Romanian players; only an ONJN authorisation does that. And a Class 1 operator licence does not, by itself, cover supplying software or services to other operators. That supply is Class 2 activity. Where your plan sits across these lines, a factual review beats a guess.

Choosing the right licence class

The Romania online casino licence classes reward a clear read of what your company actually does. If you take bets from players, you need Class 1. If you supply the operators that do, you need Class 2. Where a single group does both, it may need both, and the corporate structure decides how that is arranged. To map your model to the correct ONJN class and plan the filing, our gaming licence acquisition service can review your setup. Call +356 99408536 or email contact@licencegaming.com to book a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What are the online casino licence classes in Romania?

Romania uses three classes under ONJN. Class 1 is for B2C operators that offer games to players, Class 2 is for B2B suppliers such as software and payment providers, and Class 3 is a state monopoly for the Romanian National Lottery. An online casino operator holds a Class 1 licence.

What is the difference between a Class 1 and Class 2 ONJN licence?

A Class 1 licence lets a company take bets and wagers directly from Romanian players. A Class 2 licence lets a company supply those operators with software, hosting, payment processing, testing, or participation-based affiliate services. The class turns on whether you face the player or support the operator.

Do I need a Romanian company to hold a Class 1 licence?

You must be established in the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland to apply. A foreign operator also needs a Romanian subsidiary or a permanent establishment for tax, plus a local representative. ONJN confirms the current corporate conditions in its licensing rules.

Can one Class 1 licence cover several casino brands or domains?

For online gambling, a single operating authorisation covers all activities on the same platform, and that platform can connect to several domain names. So one Class 1 authorisation can support more than one brand on the same back end. Confirm with ONJN whether separate brands change your contributions or guarantees before you register the domains.

Does a Class 1 operator need a Class 2 licence for its own software?

If a Class 1 operator only uses its software for its own platform, the operator licence generally covers it. If the same group supplies that software to other operators, that supply is Class 2 activity and usually needs its own licence. Because this depends on your corporate structure, confirm the scope with ONJN or an adviser.

Can I serve Romanian players with an offshore or Malta licence?

No. Only an ONJN authorisation permits play by people located in Romania. A licence from Malta or an offshore jurisdiction does not extend to Romanian players, so you apply for a Class 1 licence to enter the market.

How long is a Romania gaming licence valid?

The organising licence runs for 10 years. The operating authorisation is annual and must be renewed each year for the operator to keep taking bets. Missing the renewal window can interrupt operations, so most operators diary it well ahead.

Which class do affiliates and payment providers need?

Payment service providers and affiliates paid on player activity fall under Class 2. A publisher paid a pure flat fee for advertising may sit outside the requirement. Since the line depends on how the fee is earned, check the arrangement with ONJN before you contract.