Romania blacklists Bet365, company considers challenging decision

Online gambling operator Bet365 has been blacklisted in Romania, despite having been issued a temporary online gambling license by local regulators.

In an order dated Oct. 13, Romania’s Oficiul National Pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN) gambling regulator announced it was canceling the operating rights of Bet365 subsidiaries Hillside Sports and Hillside Gaming. Players have been given 30 days in which to withdraw funds from their Bet365 accounts. The news follows the ONJN’s decision this week to add Bwin.party digital entertainment domains to Romania’s ever expanding blacklist of unauthorized operators.

A year ago, Bet365 reported it would stop accepting new customers from Romania while it reviewed its options. All operators seeking new Romanian licenses had been told to pay back taxes on their Romanian income from 2009 and reports are that Bet365 dutifully anted up €30m, nearly four times the sum that Bwin.party reported paying.

According to Romanian media, ONJN said Bet365 continued to operate in the country after Sept. 10, 2015, which marked the end of the grace period for operators to fulfill their obligations to the state budget. Newly licensed operators were apparently told they had to wait until Oct. 10 to restart their Romanian-facing business.