Romania on Track for 80 Percent Authorized Slot Machine Reduction by Early 2027

Romania's land-based slot sector stands to lose around 80 percent of its authorized machines by the start of 2027 unless the licensing impasse triggered by Emergency Government Ordinance No. 7/2026 is resolved. Industry group FEDBET reports that valid authorizations have already fallen from 43,306 in March to approximately 15,500 by November 1. The federation projects the total will drop to 9,096 by January 1, 2027, if local councils take no further action.

Scale of the Licensing Stalemate

The February 2026 ordinance gave local authorities a larger role in approving gambling operations, yet fewer than 4 percent of the country's roughly 3,100 administrative-territorial units completed the required decisions after the 60-day deadline passed in April. FEDBET, which represents approximately 90 percent of the Romanian gambling market, attributes the entire decline to regulatory uncertainty and the failure of local authorities to act. A spokesperson for the federation stated: "Based on the information available to FEDBET and the feedback from our members, we believe that the entire decrease between March and November is attributable to the regulatory uncertainty and the failure of local authorities to adopt the decisions required under OUG No. 7/2026."

The group has called on the Government and Parliament to adopt temporary rules permitting compliant operators to continue trading while councils finish their approvals. Several localities have already imposed tighter restrictions, with Iași prohibiting slot venues outright and similar steps taken in Bacău, Sibiu, Brăila, Slatina, Zalău and Timișoara.

Risks of Unlicensed Shift and Revenue Loss

FEDBET President Alexandru Domșa warned that reduced licensed capacity will not eliminate demand but will redirect it. "Closing an authorized location does not mean that people stop playing. A large part of them end up on unlicensed sites, where no one checks age, there are no deposit limits or protective measures, and the state does not collect anything. The first thing that is lost in a lockdown is the protection of players. In other words, the game does not disappear, control, on the other hand, does." The federation cited EU data showing 72 percent of the online gambling market operating via black-market channels with €92 billion turnover and member states losing around €22 billion in 2025.

Approximately 8,500 jobs have already been affected. The group identified a 750 million lei shortfall in gambling tax revenue within Romania’s 2026 budget amendment and estimates total losses could reach €320 million by year-end, excluding secondary impacts such as income tax and social contributions. As reported by World Casino News, these pressures follow earlier 2024 measures that banned slot halls in towns under 15,000 residents and tightened zoning.

The Case for Transitional Measures

Local approval bottlenecks have created a predictable erosion of the licensed market, favoring unlicensed operators that offer no player safeguards or tax contribution. Regulators face a narrow window to enact temporary authorizations that preserve oversight while councils complete their processes; delay beyond that point will compound revenue shortfalls and weaken consumer protections without reducing overall gambling activity.