Romania’s crackdown on gambling drives land-based operators toward collapse

(AsiaGameHub) –   Romania’s gambling sector is growing more uncertain about its future, partly due to ongoing regulatory changes that are placing extra strain on land-based operators. Concerns are mounting for the slot hall industry’s prospects in Romania, as the number of slot machines in the country has dropped from around 80,000 two years ago to an estimated 36,000 today.

Industry sources predict that the number of slot machines operating in Romania will decline further—optimistically, to a range of 15,000 to 20,000—by the end of this calendar year.

While there are potential signs that gaming venues may close in the future, all operators holding a valid license from Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) are currently operating under a temporary permit while their permanent license application is being processed.

Andrei Frimescu, communications director at trade body Romslot, says:

This has effectively become a Catch-22. We hold a valid national authorization, but we can’t operate without a local permit. Yet to obtain the new local authorization, we need that local permit—and in many cases, local authorities aren’t issuing them, so the industry is stuck.

The first test of this system will take place when each operator’s annual authorization expires.

After that, the municipality where each operator runs its business will be able to decide whether to grant permission for them to continue operating. Most Romanian municipalities have not developed an authorization process or procedure to evaluate whether operators should be allowed to operate, and the government has projected that up to 200 municipalities may ultimately ban gambling.

As a result, industry representatives argue that this situation has created a stalemate for operators, both legally and practically.

Both operators and legal counsel have warned that if this situation continues, Romania could end up with a fragmented regulatory framework where individual municipalities establish their own rules governing gambling.

With the future of land-based gaming growing increasingly uncertain, many operators are now turning to online gaming and omnichannel solutions.