State revenues from licenses and taxes - Romania

Romania has built one of the region's most understandable models for monetizing gambling for the budget: fixed licenses and fees, gross gaming income (GGR) tax, additional contributions for responsible play and compliance control. For the state, this is a predictable cash flow, and for business - transparent rules of the game.

From which budget revenues are formed

1. GGR tax

Online (iGaming): Generally lower than retail to encourage white online sewers. In working estimates - about 16% of GGR (online).

Offline (retail): higher due to external effects (locations, cash, point control). In working estimates - about 25% of GGR (offline).

These rates give the lion's share of all receipts.

2. Licenses and annual fees

Operating licenses (online/offline), renewals, certification.

Permits for equipment (VLT, slot machines), game halls, sweepstakes.

Certification of content and providers (B2B providers, PSP).

3. Responsible Play and Monitoring Contributions

Targeted payments to specialized funds: prevention of ludomania, informing, hotlines, risk analytics.

4. Fines and sanctions

For violations of advertising, AML/KYC, reporting, admission of self-excluded persons, etc.

5. Taxes on player winnings (withholding)

The share is more modest in relation to the GGR tax, but noticeable during peak periods (sports events, major tournaments).

Online vs offline: contribution to the budget

Offline (casinos, slot halls, betting points) provides a stable GGR accrual base and a significant array of annual fees for equipment and points of sale.

Online is growing faster: it leads to an increase in the GGR base, but the tax rate is usually lower than offline - in exchange for better collection, transparency of transactions and a decrease in the gray segment.

Example of budget revenues calculation (illustration)

Suppose a conditional annual market GGR = €2.6 billion, of which:

Offline GGR = €1.5 billion at a ~ rate of 25% → €375 million in taxes.
Online GGR = €1.1 billion at a ~ rate of 16% → €176 million in taxes.

Total for GGR tax: ~ €551 million

Add:

Licenses, annual fees, certification, equipment permits: €40-80 million per year can be considered a guideline (depending on the number of machines/points/providers and the size of fixed payments).
Contributions to RG/monitoring funds and fines: another €10-30 million (highly volatile).
Deductions from player winnings: €10-25 million (variable, depending on the structure of winnings).

In total, the budget in such a scenario can receive ~ €610-685 million/year. The figures are illustrative: actual values depend on the exact mathematics of rates, the number of licenses, offline saturation and macrocycles.

What strengthens/weakens the budget flow

Enhances:

The growth of online sewage (withdrawal of players from the gray segment).
Hard reporting, domain registries, blocking of "gray" sites.
High density of control of offline equipment and points.
Sports peaks and content updates (LTV↑ → GGR- baza↑).

Attenuates:

Inflated tax rates (pushed offshore/gray segment).
Complex/expensive licenses without predictability of renewal.
Macroshocks: falling consumption, inflationary surges.
Tough advertising bans without compensatory channels for informing the player about legal brands.

Administration and Compliance: Why it Matters to the Budget

KYC/AML and reporting: increase collection, reduce leaks.

RNG/Live Provider Certification: Reduces the risk of controversial math and claims.

Responsible play: reduces reputational/social costs by maintaining the sustainability of the tax base.

Registers and PSP whitelists: help cut off unlicensed payment channels.

Connection with the real sector

Employment and personal income tax: casinos, halls, B2B studios, support centers.

Rent/services: contribution to local budgets through business activity taxes.

Tourism and events: poker/betting tournaments, festivals - multipliers for small businesses.

Risks to budget planning

Regulatory volatility: frequent revisions of rates and fees destroy CAPEX plans of operators and the GGR base.

Technological gap: monitoring lag → gray segment growth.

Offline enforcement: insufficient control over the halls → "cash" erosion of the base.

Advertising restrictions: in the absence of labeling mechanisms, informing players suffers "legally/illegally."

Best practices for sustainable income

Balanced tax "fork": online below offline, but with high collection.

Multi-level licenses: different fee for B2C, B2B, content, equipment.

Transparent rules of RG and advertising: "what is/is not" without gray areas.

Single window of reporting and API integration: reduces the cost of compliance, improves the quality of data.

Regular wayring bets: calibration so as not to lose sewers to the white segment.

Forecast to 2030

Online drive: an increase in the share of mobile, live content and personalization → an expansion of the GGR base.

Offline stability: VLT fleet modernization, hall consolidation, better reporting.

Fiscal stability: while maintaining the current logic of rates and fees, the budget maintains a stable upward trend in revenues, with sensitivity to macrocycles and sports calendars.

Romanian state revenues from gambling are primarily a tax on GGR, strengthened by licenses/fees, targeted contributions and fines. The "online below offline" balance supports sewerage and collection. With predictable rules, strong compliance and a responsible approach, the market remains a reliable source of budget revenues and a driver of concomitant economic activity.