80% Loss Warning in Romania's Legal Gambling Market

FEDBET, the federation of gaming operators in Romania, argues that blocking gambling permits will not eliminate demand but will shift it into channels the state cannot supervise. According to the federation, people left unprotected, particularly minors and vulnerable groups, will lose the safeguards provided by the legal framework, and the regulated, supervised market will shrink even faster.

The federation recalls that 72% of the online gambling market across the European Union is black market. It is stated that the revenue of this black market is nearly 92 billion euros and that in 2025 alone member states lost around 22 billion euros. FEDBET President Alexandru Domșa said that unlicensed sites have no age verification, deposit limits or protective measures, and that the state collects no taxes from them. According to Domșa, the game is not ending, the oversight is disappearing.

The federation is calling on the government and parliament for urgent measures to keep the activity within the legal framework and under state supervision until local decisions are issued. About 8,500 people in the sector have had their jobs affected. The federation said the 750 million lei tax loss included in the Ministry of Finance's draft revision of the 2026 budget is only part of the total, that losses will accelerate from August, and that its estimate of the total reaches around 320 million euros.

Public data show that the number of slot machines with valid permits will fall from 43,306 in March to about 9,000 at the start of 2027. As of November 1, there were still 15,579 machines permitted. If local council decisions are not issued, the number will be 9,096 on January 1, 2027, a 42% decrease in two months. Fewer than 4% of the approximately 3,100 administrative units have taken the decisions under GEO no. 7/2026. The 60-day period given for these decisions expired in April. Applications the sector has submitted to municipalities have not yet received a response.