Romania’s National Gambling Office has posted a blacklist of the remote gambling sites it says are operating unlawfully in Romania on its official website.
The office has also published the names of the companies that have so far obtained an interim licence to organise and operate remote gambling in Romania in 2015. The three groups currently licensed are: Stanley Bet, NetBet and Winmasters.
They will operate on an interim licence until 31 December 2015 and will be preparing their application for a 10-year licence in the months running up to the end of the year.
Romania’s igaming regulatory project has been working its way through the country’s legislature since the start of the year as operators such as William Hill exit the market.
Other major operators such as bwin, PokerStars or Bet365 are believed to be currently negotiating the retrospective tax bill they are being asked to pay by the authorities for operating in the market without a licence.
The fines/back taxes could reach €90m, the amount operators will be asked to pay will depend on the Romanian volumes they have been doing, although the timeframe as to when the activity period starts and ends is unclear.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
