Torrent Gear

Attracting international investors

Attracting international investors in Romania

1) Country's investment "pitch" (short)

Access to the EU market: uniform standards for data protection and payments, legal harmonization, logistics.

Regulatory predictability: ONJN with transparent licensing requirements, technical certification and RG control.

Mobile market: high 4G/5G coverage, mobile-first culture, developed e-wallets and cards.

Personnel and cost: strong engineers/analysts, competitive salaries compared to Western Europe.

2) Regulatory framework and capital confidence

Licensing: clear classes of licenses for online and offline, requirements for KYC/AML, technical audits, liability of operators and affiliates.

Responsible Gaming by default: deposit/time limits, self-exclusion, reality check, staff training, incident reporting.

Privacy and security: compliance with GDPR, storage and processing of data within the EU, logging of events and incidents.

Judicial protection: arbitrability of contracts, recognition of European compliance standards.

Invest conclusion: legal certainty reduces regulatory risk and the cost of capital (WACC), increasing exit multipliers.

3) Infrastructure and payments

Fintech puzzle: cards, bank transfers, Skrill/Neteller, Paysafecard, local e-wallets; instant deposits, predictable conclusions.

Technologies: microservice stacks, CDN/clouds in the EU, bet telemetry, antifraud, device-fingerprinting, behavioral scoring.

Content and live: streaming/animation rights, deep match centers, micro markets in live, bet constructors.

4) Market and Growth Segments

Sports betting: core - football (Liga I, European cups), tennis, basketball, handball; markets for statistics and live micro-cuts are growing.

Online casinos: windows of localized providers, live casinos, jackpots; strict RTP disclaimers and UX transparency.

Omnicanal: PPP as a cross-selling and fast cashout point; single account/loyalty.

Esports and 3 × 3 events: youth traffic, sponsorships and content marketing without "hard selling."

5) Capital entry models

1. Direct login (license + proprietary platform): control over data/margin; above CAPEX and time-to-market.

2. JV with local PPP/media networks: quick access to offline audience and advertising channels.

3. M&A: purchase of shares in existing operators/aggregators/studios; synergies in marketing and engineering.

4. Asset-light: white-label/managed services, RGS partnerships, content/payment solutions delivery.

5. Corporate VC/growth funds: minority shares in B2B links (anti-fraud, analytics, streaming, payments).

6) Finance and multipliers (generalized)

Assessment drivers: online growth, retention via mobile UX, live and statistics share, omnichannel, RG metrics (risk mitigation).

Risk mitigation = multiplier growth: mature compliance, "net" payments, predictable SLA by conclusions, low proportion of complaints.

Unit economy: CAC vs LTV, ARPPU, share of active in D30/D90, refand risk, share of cash-out, cost-to-serve (KYC, support, fraud).

7) Due diligence: investor checklist

Law and licenses

License validity, compliance with technical requirements, RG registers, agreements with providers/affiliates.

Finance

Reconciliation of PSP/bank revenues, GGR/NET correctness, returns/chargebacks, tax liabilities, dispute provisions.

Technologies

Architecture (microservices, queues, monitoring), security (TLS/HSTS, tokens, backups, DR plan), SLA providers, telemetry quality.

Marketing

Traffic sources (ASO/SEO/affiliates), anti-incident control, LTV cohorts, organic share, compliance with advertising and RG codes.

Operations

KYC/AML policies, withdrawal time, NPS/CSAT, staff training, RG/fraud incident logs.

Jurriski/ESG

8) Risks and how to hedge them

Regulatory changes: keep stock on capital requirements/margin, participate in consultations, flexible product matrix.

Reputation and RG: public RG metrics, "default limits," case escalation and independent auditing.

Fraud/chargebacks: multi-level anti-fraud, method limits, device fingerprinting, "behavioral biometrics."

Competition for personnel: academies, partnerships with universities, options/ESOP for key engineers and analysts.

Operational failures: DR plan, backup PSP, dual CDN, test purchases (mystery shopper).

9) Partnerships and localization

Media and sports: content rights, studio formats, "responsible" integration with football and handball clubs.

Payments: local providers + international PSPs; instant deposits, predictable conclusions.

Content: local dealers in live casinos, Romanian voice acting, holidays/derby in promo, cross campaigns with esports.

10) Practical entry road map (T-0 → T + 180)

T-0 - 30: market screening, choice of entry model, term sheet with local partner, pre-audit licensing and taxes.

T-30 - 90: submission for licenses, selection of PSPs and data centers/clouds in the EU, integration of game/feed providers, RG policies and support scripts.

T-90 - 150: beta launch of PWA/applications, UX A/B tests, fraud scoring, personnel training, media partnering.

T-150 - 180: commercial launch, public report on RG metrics, marketing scaling, MMP/attribution, CAC: LTV optimization.

11) KPI for investment control

Growth: MAU/WAU/DAU, mobile share, registratsiya→depozit conversion, KYC speed.

Revenue quality: GGR/NET by channel, ARPPU, D30/D90 Retention, cash-out share, live/micro markets share.

Operations: average output time, fault tolerance (uptime), average support response, NPS/CSAT.

Risks: fraud rate, chargebacks, number of RG incidents, share of players with active limits.

12) Invest memo: 1 page structure

Thesis: why now and why Romania.

Product/market: sports, casino, omnichannel, mobile trends.

Technologies: stack, security, telemetry, DR plan.

Marketing: channels, brand, media partnerships, RG-tone.

Finance: income model, CAPEX/OPEX, unit-economics.

Risks/hedge: regulatory, fraud, personnel, reputation.

Stage/round: volume, utilization of funds, KPI for the next milestone.

Exit card: strategists/financial funds, multipliers.

13) Forecast to 2030

1. Hyperpersonalization and micro-markets in live, an increase in the share of mobile rates and "minute" markets.

2. Omnicanal-2. 0: a single wallet and instant cashout "to the cashier," end-to-end loyalty.

3. RG as industry standard: "default limits," public reports, algorithmic risk prevention.

4. M&A wave: consolidation of offline networks and B2B links (anti-fraud, streaming, payments, RGS).

5. ESG focus: accessibility for people with disabilities, green data centers, local cultural initiatives.

Romania offers investors a rare combination: European legal certainty, mobile audience, advanced payments and a talented technical base. Successful entry is built on an honest product, compliance discipline and omnichannel. Those who consolidate RG standards, payment transparency and data-driven management will receive not only sustainable LTV growth and exit multipliers, but also market confidence, which is the main asset in this industry.