Online gambling in Romania is legal and regulated, but it wasn’t always so. The country’s gambling industry has been on a rollercoaster ride over the last century, but now that things are clear cut (relatively speaking), what should you expect when betting in Romania?
Fortunately, you don’t have to venture far if you want to find out. Our page has all the details you need. If you want to find the best and safest Romanian casinos, snap up top bonuses, and learn about the best games, you can do that right here. Moreover, we’ll also unravel Romania’s gambling laws, so you’ll never be in doubt about what you can and cannot do when betting online in the EU country. Let’s dive straight in by showcasing some of our top, reputable casinos in Romania.
The big question on everyone’s lips is likely, “is online casino gambling legal in Romania?” Our team has been busy ploughing through Romania’s gambling laws, and we’ve got the answer.
In 2013, Romania passed the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 amendment. This laid out the terms for a fully regulated online gambling industry and what terms would be applied to constitute legal gambling sites in Romania. In brief, a Romanian licensing authority was established to administer licenses to operators. Licenses would cover most forms of gambling games. Licenses would be available to non-Romanian operators. However, any foreign and offshore operators that didn’t obtain a Romanian gambling license would be blocked by the country’s internet service providers.
To date, around twenty-five licensed operators exist, and these are all legit Romania online casinos and sportsbooks. Over 1,300 sites are currently blacklisted. However, a simple VPN is often more than enough to circumvent those ISP blocks.
Online casinos are legal in Romania. To be deemed legal, a site must have obtained a Romanian gambling license. There are fewer than twenty legit Romania online casinos that have fulfilled the requirements this far. Offshore casinos are blacklisted, and potential penalties may be applied to players who visit them.
Poker games are legal under Romania’s gambling laws. Again, though, only at websites that are licensed by the country’s gambling authorities. While poker is available to play via Romanian casinos, there are no fully licensed online poker rooms in the country.
The same Romanian gambling act also covers sports betting. The National Gambling Office has administered licenses to sports betting companies, and as in other EU countries, some operators choose to offer both sports betting and casino games under one roof. Once more, operators who haven’t obtained a license are typically excluded and blacklisted.
Lottery games in Romania are run by the state monopoly, Loteria Romana. While operators are permitted to offer games from Loteria Romana, they may not run their own lotteries.
Bingo games are legal in Romania, as are tombola games. These typically appear alongside lottery and online casino games. Romania has not actively licensed any bingo rooms. On the upside, many existing offshore bingo rooms have not been added to Romania’s blacklist – at least, not yet.
Romania has had something of an up and down relationship with gambling. Below, we’ll chart the major developments throughout the country’s history. They include:
To date, only operators based in Romania, another EU or EEA country, or Switzerland are permitted to apply for a Class 1 (online gambling or Class 2 (mobile gambling) license. Sites that have been blacklisted are forbidden from applying for a license, and this situation does not look like changing.
Safe online casinos in Romania are those which hold a Romanian gambling license from the National Gambling Office. However, there are plenty of alternative venues you could choose to play at. For instance, there are UK Gambling Commission and Malta Gaming Authority casinos that could fit the bill. Most of these are likely to be blacklisted, though.
Naturally, the quickest way to ensure that you play at the most trusted online casinos for Romanian players is to head to our recommended casinos. Our team has vetted each and they receive our seal of approval for being a safe and secure domain. Alternatively, you can do the legwork for yourself. If you want to know how, take a look at the following things our team looks for when writing online gambling reviews for players in Romania.
You’ll naturally be drawn to a top online casino bonus that is understandable. However, there should be certain conditions attached. Not only should the bonus be worth decent money, it should also come with generous terms and conditions such as wagering requirements, low deposit limits and high maximum win caps. Fairness and prosperity should appear together in all top Romanian online gambling bonuses.
Romanian casinos won’t make our list if they don’t feature top games and software. We don’t want to see a handful of titles from a single provider, and neither should you. We want to see hundreds, if not thousands of games from all today’s most reputable developers. These should include many different genres, too, and we’ll come to those in a second.
Our team does its due diligence in ensuring that the reputation of the casino is up to scratch. We want to see certificates of fair play (for random number generators), fair RTP rates, and, naturally, licenses from bodies that we trust to regulate casinos efficiently.
When contacting customer support, players should be able to get the help they need in Romanian, but also English if they prefer. On top of that, we want to see support options available via live chat (it is faster), with an around the clock service available freely. An FAQ wouldn’t hurt a casino’s chances, either.
Romania players want to be able to use the leu to bet on their favourite games. Euros are an option, too, but that may involve currency conversion fees. On top of that, we want to see payment methods that work well for Romanian players, complete with low to no fees and reasonable transaction times of 1-3 days (for withdrawals) at most.
As touched on, a top Romanian online casino should offer you all sorts of games. Online casinos that accept Romania players and are worth a visit will offer live dealers, slots, table games and more. Aside from the best online casino games, Romanian sites may also offer you sports betting options, instant win titles, poker, and new online casino games for Romania shouldn’t be overlooked either. They should be:
What about online slots? Online slots in Romania, should span classic slots and video slots alike, with no small number of progressive games, coupled with MegaWays and Cluster Pays slot machines in Romania.
If you fancy having a crack at blackjack online for real money in Romania, most licensed casinos should be able to provide you with that. Both RNG and live dealer games should be available, spanning titles with varying numbers of decks and side-bets.
Online roulette games are commonplace in the country. The definitive game of chance, the best online roulette gambling sites in Romania should provide you with more than just basic European, French and American variants, but also include live dealer and jackpot roulette titles.
Playing live casino games online in Romania should be a foregone conclusion. We certainly wouldn’t join any site that doesn’t offer them. Expect to see baccarat, blackjack, roulette, table poker games, dice games and more.
While it isn’t common that casino players want to try their hand at many other genres, they should still be available. Having access to video poker, scratch cards, bingo, keno, lotto games is a must, just in case you fancy a switch.
Which software providers should you expect to see in Romania? Are Microgaming casinos in Romania common? Are the best NetEnt casinos accepting Romania-based players? The most popular software developers tend to be available at Romanian casinos courtesy of SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix and include:
Do Romanian online casinos accept PayPal? Can you visit an online casino in Romania and deposit with VISA Debit? Romanian casino payment providers tend to offer the following:
Notable payment methods used at Romanian casinos typically include:
Cryptocurrency gameplay is an option for Romanian players. BCH, BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC and USDT are commonly accepted at crypto casinos. While they are not licensed out of Romania, these casinos may still appeal to you because…
Mobile casino gaming in Romania is made easy for players. Forget about iOS and Android online gambling apps for Romanians. You only need a web browser and a so-so internet connection on your tablet or phone to play top Romanian casino games online, courtesy of licensed HTML5 designed websites.
As touched on, there is more to claiming the best bonus at online casinos in Romania than a juicy stack of leu. What you also need are fair terms and conditions, transparent offers and easy access to any Romanian online casino bonus codes you may need to claim offers.
Any bonus you do claim should be valid on a wide array of games, be claimable with a minimum deposit, and allow you to win large sums of cash without having your winnings handicapped. You should also have the option of opting out if you don’t want to claim an offer, and there should be a good array of deals available. Let’s look at some of those next.
On a basic level, a no deposit casino in Romania will provide you with a free offer, with no deposit required. Here, you should potentially win real money at no risk to yourself. New Romanian no deposit casinos excel at offering these types of deals, and they are commonly available for all new players. However, these deals tend to be limited in terms of the array of games you can use them on.
A first deposit bonus at casinos in Romania is commonplace. Ideally, Romanian online casinos have bonuses with low deposit terms; you don’t have to spend an arm and leg to claim them. The basic idea is that you will receive a sum of leu based on the amount you deposit. These deposit matches may only exist on your first deposit, or they may stretch to other deposits you make.
Online casinos offering free spins as a sign-up bonus with no deposit required are common in Romania. The basic idea here is that you can spin the reels of a top Romanian slot (perhaps even a few different titles) and potentially win real cash. Again, these offers are usually risk-free, and they work in the same way as free spins (as a bonus game) do when playing slots.
Much like free spins are a form of no deposit bonus, reload bonuses are a form of deposit offer. We would say that reload bonuses are identical to deposit bonuses, although they are largely worth smaller sums than welcome offers and can be claimed almost at any time. However, for all intents and purposes, Romanian reload bonuses work in the same way as welcome deposit deals.
Before you shoot off to our Romanian casino reviews, it is worth checking out our FAQ (frequently asked questions) guide to ensure that you don’t have any lingering questions.