Romanian Liga 1 2026/27 and Legal Betting — ONJN Operators and Your Rights as a Player

The Romanian SuperLiga 2026/27 kicked off on 18 July 2026 and with it the domestic sporting year's biggest sports-betting window returns. If you want to open a betting account for the season, the first check is simple: the operator appears on ONJN's Class I licensed list, not on the blacklist published by ONJN. ONJN identifies unauthorised sites and orders ISPs to block them (ANCOM cooperates on data exchange, it does not issue the blocking orders itself).

What "licensed operator" means in Romania

The National Gambling Office (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, ONJN) issues online gambling licences under Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 and its subsequent amendments. A Class I licence (B2C — for operators) carries an annual fee of €300,000, plus an annual authorisation of 30% of gross gambling revenue (minimum €480,000/year, effective 1 August 2025). Licences are valid for 10 years and renewable. A Class II licence (B2B — for suppliers) costs €20,000/year.

Brands with an active ONJN Class I licence in 2026 include Superbet, Betano, Fortuna, Get's Bet, Unibet, Netbet and Sportingbet. Each brand is operated by a specific legal entity — some are Romanian SRLs (e.g. BET ACTIVE CONCEPT S.R.L. and BET ZONE S.R.L. for the Fortuna brand), others are Malta-registered companies operating in Romania via permanent establishment (e.g. Kaizen Gaming International Limited for Betano, Unibet (Germany) Limited for Unibet, Headlong 2 Limited for Sportingbet). The official list showing the licence-holding legal entity and expiry date is published by ONJN at onjn.gov.ro/licentiati-clasa-i/. The blacklist of unauthorised operators is at onjn.gov.ro/lista-neagra/; ONJN orders ISPs in Romania to block them (ANCOM cooperates on data exchange, it does not issue the blocking orders).

Minimum age + KYC

Participation in any form of gambling is restricted to persons over 18 (OUG 77/2009 art. 7(1), which defines a participant as "a natural person of legal age, at least 18 years old"). Age verification is part of the KYC process every ONJN-licensed operator must run at account opening, under Law 129/2019 on money-laundering prevention (Romania's initial transposition of EU Directive AMLD4, with later amendments for AMLD5, e.g. GEO 111/2020). Documents typically required:

• National ID or valid passport
• Proof of address — recent utility bill or bank statement
• At operators using live verification, a selfie

Without completed KYC, withdrawals are blocked. It is not needless bureaucracy — it is the signal that the operator respects the framework.

Withholding tax

Every ONJN-licensed operator is required to withhold tax at source before paying you, per Fiscal Code art. 110 as amended by Law 141/2025 (effective 1 August 2025). The current brackets:

• 4% on winnings up to 10,000 RON
• 400 RON + 20% on the portion between 10,001 and 66,750 RON
• 11,750 RON + 40% on the portion above 66,750 RON

Tax applies per payment (per withdrawal), not on the running balance. This is the biggest practical difference between licensed operators and unlicensed ones: unauthorised operators withhold nothing at source, and the tax responsibility at ANAF falls entirely on the player. Unreported winnings can attract significant penalties.

Your rights as a player

Every ONJN operator is required to respect, among other things:

• Activity limits: daily, weekly or monthly deposit, stake and time limits. The tools must sit in your account panel and be exposed visibly — use them, don't just tick the box.
• Self-exclusion + play-break: ONJN Order No. 79/2025 (signed 13 June 2025, in force from 17 June 2025) established a national unified register covering both permanent self-exclusion AND a temporary play-break (with defined minimum duration). Every licensed operator must consult the register before allowing access. You can request enrolment at any operator and it applies automatically at all.
• Transaction history: the operator must provide the complete bet and transaction history on request.
• Clear bonus terms: rollover, maximum win and excluded markets must be displayed clearly before you accept any bonus.

Complaints + disputes — where to file

If you have a dispute with a licensed operator (blocked payment, account closed without reason, KYC refused, aggressive advertising, refused bonus), you have two direct paths:

• ONJN — online petition for regulatory-framework breach, via portal.onjn.gov.ro (pre-filing instructions at onjn.gov.ro/cititi-inainte-de-a-depune-o-petitie/). The Supervision and Control Directorate handles these.
• ANPC — consumer-rights complaint to the National Consumer Protection Authority (anpc.ro). Commercial services of gambling operators fall under OG 21/1992.

Risks of unlicensed operators

Operators without ONJN licences — .com sites without a Romanian platform — are on ONJN's public blacklist and DNS-blocked by ANCOM. Even if you technically manage to open an account, you lose, in order: withholding tax at source (personal tax risk at ANAF), access to the self-exclusion register, any recourse path to ONJN or ANPC, and KYC document protection. Under the current framework, conducting gambling activity without a licence is a criminal offense for the operator (mandatory dissolution of the entity and confiscation of profits); for unlicensed B2B, the administrative fine is RON 50,000-100,000.

Advertising context

Gambling advertising in Romania is regulated by two distinct instruments. Emergency Ordinance 82/2023 (in force since 6 October 2023) tightened advertising: outdoor billboards capped at 35 m², a 6:00-23:00 audiovisual window, restrictions on bonus promotion and a mandatory warning message. Separately, CNA Decision No. 573/2025 (the new Audiovisual Code, in force since 6 October 2025) bans public personalities (athletes, artists, influencers) from appearing in gambling advertising — TV, radio or social media.

How to recognise a gambling problem

The 2026/27 season runs roughly ten months — enough time to lose control if you don't hold it. Rather than a generic list of warning signs, the Joc Responsabil Association provides a self-assessment questionnaire at jocresponsabil.ro. It is anonymous, takes three minutes, and the score tells you whether you are in the low-, medium- or high-risk band, with concrete recommendations for each level.

If you want to talk to someone:

• Tel-Verde helpline: 0800 800 099 — free from any Romanian network, Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00
• 24/7 online chat with psychologists: available non-stop on the association website (the only 24/7 channel)
• Email: contact@jocresponsabil.ro
• Free in-person psychological counselling: offices in Bucharest, Constanța, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca and Iași

Support is free and confidential. The association has held legal status since 2018 and is a recognised ONJN partner in the gambling-addiction prevention programme.

Sources

• ONJN — onjn.gov.ro/licentiati-clasa-i/, onjn.gov.ro/lista-neagra/, portal.onjn.gov.ro, Order No. 79/2025 (signed 13.06.2025, in force 17.06.2025)
• Fiscal Code art. 110 (Law 141/2025, effective 01.08.2025) — noulcodfiscal.ro
• OUG 77/2009 art. 7 (minimum age), OUG 82/2023 (2023 advertising), CNA Decision No. 573/2025 (2025 Audiovisual Code — public-personality ban) — legislatie.just.ro, cna.ro
• Law 129/2019 (KYC / AML, initial AMLD4 transposition with later AMLD5 amendments, e.g. GEO 111/2020)
• ICLG — Gambling Laws and Regulations Report 2026 Romania (iclg.com)
• Joc Responsabil Association — jocresponsabil.ro/primeste-ajutor
• Wikipedia — 2026-27 Liga I (season start 18 July 2026)