Local Permits Now Required for Land-Based Gambling Venues

OUG 7/2026, effective from 25 February 2026, amends OUG 77/2009 and adds a new requirement: if you operate in a physical location, you must also hold a local operating authorisation issued by the local public authority.

If you’re an operator, this change can protect communities—but it can also create a patchwork of “yes/no” cities, variable fees, and location risk that directly impacts expansion plans.

Here’s what changed, how it works in practice, and what (if anything) it means internationally.

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Key points

• OUG 7/2026 (effective 25 Feb 2026) amends OUG 77/2009 and adds a local operating authorisation for land-based gambling.
• A “licensed operator” now must hold ONJN licence + ONJN authorisation and the local permit.
• Local councils can allow or prohibit gambling activities in their territory and can define permitted zones.
• Local councils can impose an annual local tax calculated by sqm, payable within 30 days of permit issuance.
• Existing ONJN-authorised operators transition at the end of their current authorisation period; local tax is not due for the remaining time until then.

Romania Hands City Halls the Switch: Local Permits Now Gatekeep Gambling Venues

What OUG 7/2026 changes in plain English

1) The definition of “licensed operator” now includes a local permit

OUG 7/2026 updates the definition of a “licensed gambling operator” to explicitly include three pillars:

• ONJN organising licence,
• ONJN operating/exploitation authorisation, and
• a local operating authorisation from the local public authority where the activity takes place.

2) Local permit is mandatory for land-based activity

The ordinance underlines that organising gambling requires the ONJN licence + ONJN authorisation, and where activity is carried out in physical premises, the local operating authorisation becomes necessary as well.

3) City councils can decide whether gambling venues are allowed at all

This is the real power shift: the new provisions state that the local council decides by resolution whether gambling activities may be carried out within its administrative territory.

So the opening question becomes: “Does this town allow gambling venues?” — before you even talk about fit-out, lease terms, or ONJN renewals.

4) If the town allows it, you still need an annual local operating authorization

If the local council allows gambling on its territory, operations become conditional on obtaining a local annual operating authorisation in advance.

5) The local authority sets both zones and a local annual tax (by square meters)

The local council can set:

• the zones where gambling activities may be carried out, and
• the amount of the annual local tax payable to obtain the local operating authorisation, calculated based on the floor area (sqm) of the premises.

The tax must be paid within 30 days of issuance of the local authorisation.

6) Transition rule for operators already authorized by ONJN on 25 February 2026

For operators holding a valid ONJN exploitation authorisation on 25 February 2026, the new local-permit requirement applies upon expiry of the current authorisation period; and the annual local tax is not due for the remaining period until that expiry.

My analytical take: this isn’t “more paperwork” — it’s a new risk layer

I see OUG 7/2026 as Romania moving from purely central oversight to municipal-level governance of gambling density. That’s common in many countries where local councils control zoning and “social impact” decisions, and Romania is now formally adopting that logic.

However, the trade-off is obvious: you can end up with 36+ different local regimes, each with its own zones, tax levels, and political temperature. In practice, this tends to create:

• “friendly” cities where clusters form,
• “hostile” cities with bans or de facto bans via zoning, and
• increased M&A value for operators with prime, already-authorised locations.

International relevance: do these licenses/permits matter outside Romania?

ONJN license + ONJN exploitation authorization

• Internationally relevant as a credibility signal (EU-regulated, supervised framework), especially in due diligence, banking discussions, and B2B partnerships.
• Not an international passport. It does not authorise operations in other jurisdictions (EU gambling remains nationally regulated).

Local operating authorisation (new)

• Not internationally relevant as a “licence.” It is purely a Romanian municipal operating condition.
• International stakeholders care only indirectly, because it changes site viability and creates municipal policy risk in Romania.

In one line: ONJN matters for credibility; the local permit matters for survival on the ground.

Conclusion

Gambling operators must now also obtain a local operating authorisation issued by local authorities. In other words, Romania has added a municipal “on/off switch” for land-based venues: ONJN licensing remains mandatory, but city halls now control whether gambling can operate locally, where it can operate, and what the annual local cost looks like

Tags: #Romania #ONJN #OUG7/2026 #Land-basedgambling #Localpermit #Municipaltax #Compliance #Retailgaming #Regulation #Risk