Romania can lose 80% of licensed gambling venues by 2027

The Federation of Romanian Gambling Organisers (FEDBET) warns that Romania is at risk of losing around 80% of its authorized slot machines and gambling venues by the end of 2026. The main reasons are delays of local licensing decisions. The statements was published on November 9. It mentioned that the implementation of Emergency Government Ordinance (GEO) No. 7/2026 had created uncertainty for operators seeking to renew their permits. FEDBET’s estimated number of slot machine fall is approximately 9,000 from 43,306. The GEO No. 7/2026 legislation gave the prerogative of permitting gambling activities in their regions to municipalities. According to FEDBET, however, companies cannot get local permission for their activities without decisions from the local municipal councils, while the National Gambling Office (ONJN) cannot extend gambling licenses unless they are in agreement with local councils. The federation states that less than 4% of the total number of Romania’s about 3100 administrative-territorial units had made the necessary decisions by the end of April. By November 1st, 15,579 gaming machines are expected to be legally permitted in the country. If the local authorities do not take the necessary actions, it is expected that the number will significantly drop down to 9,096 by January 1, 2027. The federation has requested the authorities to issue temporary acts that would allow the operators who comply with the new regulations to continue their activities until the local councils make their decisions. This situation has already had its effects. For instance, Timișoara voted to stop the establishment of new gambling venues, while those already operating were permitted to continue their activities only until the expiration of their licenses. The federation claims that the closure of gambling venues would not eliminate the demand but could push customers towards unlicensed operators. Alexandru Domșa, FEDBET’s president, said: Closing an authorized location does not mean that people stop playing. A large part of them end up on unlicensed sites, where no one checks age, there are no deposit limits or protective measures, and the state does not collect anything. The first thing that is lost in a lockdown is the protection of players. In other words, the game does not disappear, control, on the other hand, does. According to the FEDBET, around 8,500 jobs have already been affected by the uncertain licensing regulations in the country. Estimated financial losses are around 320 million lei by the end of 2026. Romania’s Ministry of Finance had previously included a projected shortfall of 750 million lei in gambling tax revenue in its 2026 budget-amendment proposal. Domșa added: The Ministry of Finance’s figure only shows what was lost before the authorisations began to expire en masse. The real cost will be seen in the coming months and does not stop at the taxes specific to this field: each job eliminated means contributions and taxes that the state no longer collects. The number of slot machines in the country has since fallen substantially, from around 80,000 to approximately 36,000. Romania’s slot machine market was already at risk with several years of tighter gambling restrictions. In 2024, Romania introduced a ban on slot machine venues in towns with fewer than 15,000 residents, alongside stricter zoning and advertising rules.