How To Obtain A Gambling B2B License In Romania?

[justangel]

Romania has emerged as a vibrant hub for iGaming operators, witnessing robust growth fueled by various factors such as its sizable population of nearly 20 million, an impressive internet penetration rate of 88%, and a deep-rooted cultural acceptance of gambling. With an estimated annual Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of €900 million, the Romanian market presents lucrative opportunities for operators seeking to expand their foothold in Eastern Europe.

Advantages of Securing a Gambling License in Romania

Romania boasts a fully regulated and dynamic gambling landscape, making it an attractive destination for businesses operating in the iGaming sector. Acquiring a Romanian B2B gambling license not only ensures compliance with local regulations but also unlocks access to a thriving ecosystem of B2C providers within the country. By obtaining this license, companies can broaden their market reach and capitalize on a wealth of business prospects. At iGaming Express, we firmly believe that obtaining a Romanian license is a strategic step forward in expanding your enterprise.
Notably, non-Romanian entities can obtain this B2B license without the need for a physical presence in Romania, thereby avoiding corporate and gambling taxes. Furthermore, holding a Romanian B2B license facilitates the establishment of IBAN accounts in European payment systems and cryptocurrency exchanges, offering additional flexibility for financial operations.

Target Audience for the License

This license caters to B2B providers specializing in the gambling industry, offering products and services to B2C operators licensed in Romania. A Class II license is mandated for entities engaged in specific activities within the gambling sector, including:

• management and hosting facilities on the gaming platform, respectively: operators that have management and integration platforms specific to remote gambling, as well as operators of server storage centers (data centers);
• production, distribution, repair and maintenance activities for gaming equipment, import, export, intra-community acquisition, intra-community delivery or other activities with components or gaming equipment;
• payment processors;
• for companies that produce and/or distribute software specialized in the field of gambling, as well as companies that transmit images of gambling games characteristic to casinos;
• for affiliated persons
• for certifiers, auditors, and conformity assessment bodies.

It's important to note that each listed activity requires a separate license. The validity of the license spans 10 years, contingent upon the annual fee payments.

Prerequisites for License Acquisition

Obtaining the license necessitates either the establishment of a company in Romania or the European Union. Non-resident companies must undergo registration and obtain a Romanian tax identification number (CIF). Key personnel involved must possess unblemished criminal records and impeccable reputations, with a demonstrated expertise in the relevant gambling sector. Comprehensive anti-money laundering protocols and regulatory compliance measures are mandatory, including the implementation of AML/KYC policies, data protection measures, and risk management frameworks.
Additionally, applicants must demonstrate ownership of copyrighted software used for B2C clients and undergo annual financial audits. For non-resident B2B operators, fulfilling tax obligations, including the submission of tax declarations and payment of annual license fees to the Romanian State Budget, is mandatory.

Government Fees Breakdown

The government fees associated with acquiring a B2B gambling license in Romania are as follows:

• Administrative fee for license issuance: €10,500
• Annual licensing fee: €20,000
• Annual Responsible Gambling contribution: €15,000

[CasinosBroker]

Spot on!

[ocreditor]

Too expensive!

[NoDepositCasinos]

Great information. I was kinda interested because I am considering targeting new markets next year, but those fees are way too expensive for someone without experience in that market or someone similar.

[casinomaestro]

Thanks for the information! These fees are unexpected highly indeed. Wonder who'll be the first entrants there, big parties?

[iso2009]

Great information. I was kinda interested because I am considering targeting new markets next year, but those fees are way too expensive for someone without experience in that market or someone similar.

You want to open a full online casino/sportsbook in Romania? Or just be an affiliate?

If you want to be an affiliate, the fee was (probably still is) 7k/year (6k standard fee + 1k for some kind of begambleaware thing). It's called a "second class gambling license", as opposed to a "first class license" which is usually issued to proper bookies and casinos.

That applies if you want to target the Romanian audience - this means having a .ro domain and text in Romanian, or (probably) another .tld but in Romanian language (not sure about this one).

If you already have the traffic, it's 100% worth it to get a 2nd class license and promote local bookies.

If not, it might be a gamble, however, there are not many affiliate sites (around 400+ 2nd class licenses issued so far), so the market is not over saturated with affiliate sites.

[dannyx]

On top of that there is the cost of employees/freelancers. Unless Nodepositcasino is familiar with the Romanian language. The machine translation is certainly not as good as on other English-Spanish type pairs. So a translator/corrector is a must. I don't know Romanian but I'm almost sure they do

.... and in a year or two a law like in neighboring Bulgaria and a hole in the budget
On top of that there is the cost of employees/freelancers. Unless Nodepositcasino is familiar with the Romanian language. The machine translation is certainly not as good as on other English-Spanish type pairs. So a translator/corrector is a must. I don't speak Romanian but I am

.... and in a year or two a law like in neighboring Bulgaria and a hole in the budget

Plus probably the terms of affiliate programs are poor, like in other regional regulated markets

https://www.gpwa.org/forum/bulgaria-...ia-267146.html

Whether it pays off so 100% is debatable

[NoDepositCasinos]

You want to open a full online casino/sportsbook in Romania? Or just be an affiliate?

If you want to be an affiliate, the fee was (probably still is) 7k/year (6k standard fee + 1k for some kind of begambleaware thing). It's called a "second class gambling license", as opposed to a "first class license" which is usually issued to proper bookies and casinos.

That applies if you want to target the Romanian audience - this means having a .ro domain and text in Romanian, or (probably) another .tld but in Romanian language (not sure about this one).

If you already have the traffic, it's 100% worth it to get a 2nd class license and promote local bookies.

If not, it might be a gamble, however, there are not many affiliate sites (around 400+ 2nd class licenses issued so far), so the market is not over saturated with affiliate sites.

Just an affiliate. I want to diversify my income stream, and since the beginning of this year, I have been playing with two ideas in my mind: offering a new service or targeting a completely different market. I have nothing decided yet, but I was considering Romania because there are several people in my network who work with that market, including a terrific web designer who also happens to have Romanian as her first language.

As I said, nothing concrete, and I don't have the traffic. But it is one of the options that I am considering.

[iso2009]

Then your best option is to go with offshore bookies (stake or 22bet are available, and probably more).
Local bookies will most likely convert better, but it will cost you the license...

[justangel]

You want to open a full online casino/sportsbook in Romania? Or just be an affiliate?

If you want to be an affiliate, the fee was (probably still is) 7k/year (6k standard fee + 1k for some kind of begambleaware thing). It's called a "second class gambling license", as opposed to a "first class license" which is usually issued to proper bookies and casinos.

That applies if you want to target the Romanian audience - this means having a .ro domain and text in Romanian, or (probably) another .tld but in Romanian language (not sure about this one).

If you already have the traffic, it's 100% worth it to get a 2nd class license and promote local bookies.

If not, it might be a gamble, however, there are not many affiliate sites (around 400+ 2nd class licenses issued so far), so the market is not over saturated with affiliate sites.

Yes, the fees were as you mentioned. More than a year ago, the government changed the fees 2 times and currently are the ones i mentioned. As affiliate, you can operate with any TLD and you are not limited to .ro.

[justangel]

The advantage of the b2b romanian license is that you can have it easily recognized by MGA for example. The procedure is short and not expensive.

[justangel]

By promoting in Romania the offshore bookies on your affiliate website, can bring ban on your website and operators. Also they can impose pretty hefty fines.

[justangel]

Thanks for the information! These fees are unexpected highly indeed. Wonder who'll be the first entrants there, big parties?

on a monthly basis there are 8-10 new companies obtaining the b2b license and 2-3 for the b2c. So i would say is not bad at all. The market is still growing.

[justangel]

On top of that there is the cost of employees/freelancers. Unless Nodepositcasino is familiar with the Romanian language. The machine translation is certainly not as good as on other English-Spanish type pairs. So a translator/corrector is a must. I don't know Romanian but I'm almost sure they do

.... and in a year or two a law like in neighboring Bulgaria and a hole in the budget
On top of that there is the cost of employees/freelancers. Unless Nodepositcasino is familiar with the Romanian language. The machine translation is certainly not as good as on other English-Spanish type pairs. So a translator/corrector is a must. I don't speak Romanian but I am

.... and in a year or two a law like in neighboring Bulgaria and a hole in the budget

Plus probably the terms of affiliate programs are poor, like in other regional regulated markets

https://www.gpwa.org/forum/bulgaria-...ia-267146.html

Whether it pays off so 100% is debatable

In romania and bulgaria the only companies advertising in Media are the B2C licensed companies. Most EU countries are moving into banning advertising the online ganbling in media. As affiliate, you do not advertise there anyway. So i don't see how these laws will affect your marketing efforts.

[iCazino]

The licensing costs listed are not for operating but the class 2 affiliate license fees. Operator license is in excess of 1m$/year as of this year.

[iso2009]

By promoting in Romania the offshore bookies on your affiliate website, can bring ban on your website and operators. Also they can impose pretty hefty fines.

Do you have examples of that actually happening?

[iCazino]

I've never seen it happen but yet again I don't look over to the "dark" side of the thing. But if operators get blocked in RO there must be black affiliates being blocked too.

[iso2009]

I've never seen it happen but yet again I don't look over to the "dark" side of the thing. But if operators get blocked in RO there must be black affiliates being blocked too.

Actually, I've seen one affiliate site blocked at ISP level (.com), while .ro domains with offshore bookies might be suspended. Other than that, I don't think there's much else they can do

[rotirigratuite]

Hi! Its my first post here, i just join this community

I got the Romanian Affiliate gambling license 2 months ago.

The total cost was approximately 50.000 euros as follows:

- 20000 Euros the anual license fee
- 15000 Euros the tax for "Responsable Gambling" which is a silly thing in my opinion, because affiliates are not casinos. The casinos already pay the Responsable Gaming fee.
- 10500 Euros the License Issuance fee.

Extra: approximately 2000 Euros the Jourist/Lawyer fees.

I'm in this industry from 8 years ago. I didn't targeted Romania before, but i want to test my country.

I'm pretty sure it will be hard because the competition is amazing, but i'm sure i will be in top soon.

I hope this feedback helps

[iso2009]

Good luck (that's a lot of money for one year of licensing).