Romanian Trade Body Demands Government Intervention as Slot Licenses Plunge 64%

Romania’s primary gambling trade association, FEDBET, which represents approximately 90% of the domestic market, has issued an urgent appeal to the Romanian government seeking state protection for land-based operators caught in a severe regulatory and administrative limbo. According to the association, Emergency Government Ordinance (OUG) No. 7/2026, enacted in February, has placed the physical gaming sector in a critical predicament already jeopardizing around 8,500 jobs nationwide and destabilizing legitimate commercial operations.

Official data published by the National Office for Gambling (ONJN Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc) confirms the scale of the contraction. Individual slot machine licenses fell sharply from 43,306 in March to just 15,462 by November 1. In a statement to B2B media, a FEDBET spokesperson emphasized that this 64% net decline is not driven by commercial failures or voluntary market exits, but rather by local municipal authorities failing to adopt the administrative decisions required under OUG 7/2026 to authorize physical gaming venues.

Introduced in February 2026, the landmark ordinance transferred supervisory and licensing oversight over land-based casinos and gaming halls from the centralized national regulator (ONJN) to local municipal councils. By replacing a uniform national framework with fragmented local governance, the measure has created widespread legal uncertainty, halting capital investment and long-term operational planning across the sector.

Since July, several local councils have moved beyond administrative delays to enact outright prohibitions on slot-hosting establishments. The county of Iași became the first jurisdiction to impose a full municipal ban, followed swiftly by sweeping prohibitions across the counties of Bacău, Sibiu, and Brăila, as well as the cities of Slatina and Zalău. Amid the wave of closures, Romanian gaming multinational Super Technologies reaffirmed its commitment to protecting its workforce, announcing efforts to retain employees and keep physical locations operational by repurposing affected Superbet retail venues into alternative commercial spaces. Industry leaders warn, however, that without swift central government intervention, the ongoing collapse of the regulated land-based market will drive consumers toward unregulated black-market operators.