Joint operation of games of chance
The proposal states that such activity is allowed only based on an agreement which provides for performance of at least one of the following activities specific to games of chance: (i) operating the means of gambling, (ii) collecting and recording stakes and/or paying out and recording winnings and completing documents related to day-to-day activities, (ii) drawing up/completion of documents specific to the gambling activities, registers and monthly statements for the generated income, corresponding to the type of gambling operated, or (iv) preparation of reports specific to the organization and operation of remote gambling.
The performance of specific gambling activities referred to above can be carried out using exclusively qualified personnel employed by any of the companies holding a class I (B2C) or/and class II license (B2B), which jointly operate games of chance.
B2B obligations – unlicensed gambling activities
The proposal states that ¨B2B licensees operating in Romania through a local company or through a company having a permanent establishment in Romania” have new notification obligations to comply with, as detailed below. However, considering the overall wording used in the draft proposal, it can be argued that the proposed notification obligations are applicable to all B2B licensed entities in Romania, irrespective of the jurisdiction under which they are registered.
To be more specific, the proposal states that B2B licensed operators have the obligation to notify and submit with the regulator any agreement (irrespective of its form) covering the provision of gambling related services to B2C operators not having a B2C Romanian license in maximum 5 days after entering into such agreement.
Such notification must include: (i) nature/type of the agreement, its number, date and duration (term of the agreement), (ii) gambling related services provided to the other party, (iii) identification data of the beneficiary of the services (name of the company, registered offices, country for which the B2B services are provided to), (iv) type of the game / games covered by the provided B2B services, and (v) internet domains operated by the beneficiary of the B2B services.
Moreover, B2B licensed operators need to request from third party entities (presumably their B2C clients, operators offering services outside Romania), other than B2C operators licensed in Romania, prior to the commencement of the provisions of the services, a declaration that the respective third-party entity will not allow access to games of chance organized in other jurisdictions to participants accessing the gaming platform from Romania and/or to Romanian citizens who do not have their tax residence in another state. Such declaration must be attached to the above indicated notification.
Without having performed a thorough legal analysis of this text we note that from a legislative point of view this would be a mere Order of the President, respectively tertiary legislation which as a matter of law should only bring clarifications to the existing texts of law, rather than adding to it.
We would also mention the contradicting provisions, lack of clarity, missing a mere basis for such requests, or lack of jurisdiction in terms of enforcing at least in part some of the proposed new obligations.
Officially the orders are to sit in transparency until 2nd of August – we trust by that time, the order will be either amended or withdrawn.
Last but not least, it seems that ONJN also plans to adopt a separate and dedicated order on responsible gambling matters, as part of its efforts to provide the market with further guidance on this concept, which until now has only been reflected as a general principle in the relevant laws.
For any queries or more information on this please contact Cosmina Simion or Petrus Partene
