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Betting in Romania

Published on: 07/02/2016

Romania became free from communist rule with the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1989. The Romanians were then free to enjoy many aspects of Western lifestyles and cultures, which included sports and games. In 2003, government officials were keen to receive more tax revenues, and by allowing foreign contributions to its own sports gambling industry, the nation was able to achieve this.

Prompted by news that the Romanian government had opened up their gambling market in this way, UK-based Company, Stanley Leisure Gaming Group, stepped in to assist Romania’s gambling industry. Stanley Fairbet became the sponsor and approximately £650,000 was ploughed into the enterprise. Another betting company, called Invicta, invested an equivalent amount of money, and within one year, roughly 50 sportsbooks had been established in Romania.

The people of Romania favour football over other sports, and enjoy watching the sport as well as wagering on it. However, rugby union, tennis, basketball and handball are also popular. Gymnastics has also grown in popularity, due to the country’s successful record in Olympic competition. In 2007, Romania joined the European Union. The country is the 9th-biggest country within the EU in terms of land mass, and it has almost 22 million citizens, making it the 7th highest population in the entire EU.

Currently the Romanian citizens have a choice of over twenty licensed gambling companies with which to wager. The leading betting companies are Betshop and Leisure & Gaming PLC, The capital of Bucharest has a total of 21 licensed gambling venues. A further eight are located around the country in locations such as Timisoara, Galati, Pitasti, Ploiesti, Sinaia and Constanta.

Wagering in licensed sports betting shops is completely legal in Romania, and is the gambling method of choice. However, the regulations regarding Internet sports gambling are not so clear, as the activity does not fall under any definitive law. This makes it difficult for licenses to be granted, which in turn has led to online gambling being restricted to off-shore operations.

It has been estimated that at least 350 foreign sportsbooks in the English language offer betting opportunities to the Romanian citizens. Nearly 700 internet casinos exist, with a further 500 virtual poker sites, which also welcome accounts from addresses in Romania.

Over 100 gaming sites facilitate information in the Romanian language, and a further 30 sportsbooks offer the same, including:

All of the Romanian-friendly gambling web sites use the Euro as the standard currency. Romanian citizens can deposit and withdraw money via Visa and MasterCard or via e-wallets such as Moneybookers and NETeller.