Romania authorized 2,337 slot-machine stations between February and May 2026, down from 18,981 in the same period a year earlier. The fall follows the entry into force of Emergency Ordinance 7/2026, which hands city halls the power to allow or ban gambling on their territory. Operators are working without a clear map of where they can trade.
The installed base has shrunk too. Romania had 45,659 gaming machines authorized in 2025; 29,014 are in operation now, about 64% of last year's level.
Fees and enforcement
Authorization fees fell with the permit count. Operators paid RON 485 million ($106.8 million) between February and May 2025, while the budget took in RON 300 million over the same months of 2026.
The decline came with the new rules barely applied. Of roughly 3,100 administrative-territorial units, only 90 councils have ruled on gambling. The 60-day deadline passed more than two months ago. Thirty-five of those 90 decisions ban gambling outright, and the remaining 55 keep it running.
What it means
The government frames the reform as a way to regulate the sector and shift control to local authorities. Where halls can open now depends on mayors, and most have stayed silent. Machine numbers fell before the legal picture settled. How many halls return to the legal market, and how much fee revenue reaches the budget, depends on the councils that have yet to decide.
