Moldova: gambling regulation and licensing
Republic of Moldova
- Online sports bettingMonopoly
- Online casinoMonopoly
- Online pokerMonopoly
- Lottery and iLotteryMonopoly
- Land-based (reference)Regulated
- Regulator
- Public Services Agency
- Headline tax
- See Taxation
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Last verified
- 15 Oct 2026
Summary
Moldova runs a state gambling monopoly. Law 291/2016 makes all gambling except land-based casino maintenance a state monopoly managed through Loteria Națională a Moldovei (LNM), a 100% state-owned company that needs no licence. Online sports betting, online casino and online lotteries are therefore legal only through LNM. Since April 2018 LNM has operated through two public-private partnerships: one with NGM Company and NGM SPC for lotteries and betting, including online, which runs 7777.md, and one with Novomatic Investment MLD and Novo Gaming M Technologies for gaming machines and online games of chance, which runs Slot.md. LNM's own pages set 18 as the minimum age for betting and lotteries and 21 for online slots. Only land-based casinos are licensed to private operators, by the Public Services Agency (ASP), at MDL 600,000 per gaming table. ASP also keeps the list of unauthorised gambling sites, 8,065 domains on 8 October 2026, which internet providers block on ARCOM's instruction. Players pay 18% tax on gambling winnings, withheld by the payer. On 8 September 2026 the Government approved a 2027 fiscal package that adds a 6% vice tax on deposits into gaming accounts and on lottery tickets, collected by the organiser; Parliament has still to adopt it. Since Law 302/2024 took effect in January 2025, advertising is allowed for low social risk gambling, within a 22:00 to 07:00 window and with warnings covering 20% of the ad. LNM reports MDL 504.6 million paid to the public budget for 2025.
Common pitfalls
Treating Moldova as a licensing market: apart from land-based casinos, no gambling licence is available, and private operators take part only as partners of LNM under a public-private partnership. Online casino is not a separate licensed vertical; Slot.md is LNM's own platform. The proposed 6% vice tax is levied on deposits and ticket prices, not on gross gaming revenue, and is not yet law.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Public Services Agency (ASP)
- Regulator type
- Government ministry
- Headline tax
- See Taxation
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Tax base
- No dedicated gambling duty on operators' gross gaming revenue was identified. The Ministry of Finance describes organisers' existing fiscal obligations as licensing fees and income tax. The state also takes LNM's dividends; LNM reports contributions to the national public budget of MDL 504,560,848 for 2025.
- Capital
- Chișinău
- Currency
- MDL
- Official languages
- Romanian
How to get a gambling licence in Moldova
Online casino and online sports betting in Moldova are state monopolies: only a single state-owned or designated operator is permitted.
The regulator is the Public Services Agency (ASP).
We record 1 licence type for Moldova: the Licence for casino maintenance (Licență pentru activitate de întreținere a cazinoului).
- Fee basis
- Licence for casino maintenance (Licență pentru activitate de întreținere a cazinoului): Licensing fee on issue or extension of MDL 600,000 per gaming table and MDL 130,000 per roulette operating unit; MDL 3,600 to amend or copy and MDL 16,000 for a duplicate.
Built from the record on this page, last verified 15 Oct 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.
Legal framework
Primary statutes
Law No. 291 of 16 December 2016 on the organisation and conduct of games of chance
Legea nr. 291 din 16 decembrie 2016 cu privire la organizarea și desfășurarea jocurilor de noroc
- Year
- 2016
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Makes all gambling except casino maintenance a state monopoly managed through Loteria Națională a Moldovei, which is exempt from licensing (art. 3); repealed the 1999 gambling law (art. 55). Art. 50^1 underpins the identification and blocking of unauthorised gambling websites. Art. 51(5)(c), as amended by Law 187/2025, links gambling company dividends to funding for culture, sport and local cinema.
Secondary instruments
Government Decision No. 820/2017 approving the model regulation on gambling activity (casino maintenance)
HG nr. 820/2017 pentru aprobarea Regulamentului-tip privind organizarea şi desfăşurarea activităţii în domeniul jocurilor de noroc (întreținerea cazinourilor)
- Year
- 2017
- Summary
- Model regulation for the licensed land-based casino sector, listed by LNM among the decisions governing the sector.
Government Decisions No. 237 of 25 April 2017 and No. 639 of 14 August 2017 on the gambling public-private partnership
- Year
- 2017
- Summary
- Set the objectives of the public-private partnership for LNM: higher budget receipts, private investment and know-how, a control and monitoring system, fighting unauthorised gambling and protecting people under 21.
Key amendments
- 1 Jan 2021Law No. 257 of 16 December 2020 came into force, giving the Public Services Agency the task of identifying websites that offer unauthorised gambling and reporting them to the competent authorities.
- 10 Jan 2025Law No. 302 of 19 December 2024 published, amending Law 291/2016, the Audiovisual Media Services Code and the Contravention Code: permits advertising for low social risk gambling within limits, with mandatory warnings and new fines.
- Law No. 187/2025 amended Law 291/2016, art. 51(5)(c): budget planning for culture, sport and local cinema takes account of dividends paid by gambling companies, and 20% of those dividends may be allocated to the local cinema industry.
Pending legislation
Draft law amending certain normative acts (simplification of fiscal and customs legislation), 2027 fiscal policy
- Stage
- Approved by the Government on 8 September 2026 and sent to Parliament for examination.
- Expected
- 1 Jan 2027
- What it changes
- Adds art. 92^2 to the Fiscal Code: a 6% vice tax on participation in gambling and lotteries, charged on money deposited into gaming accounts (betting and all games of chance with social risk), on electronic lottery tickets bought on the gaming platform and on printed instant lottery tickets. The organiser calculates, declares and pays it by the 25th of the following month; it is not refunded if a game is cancelled.
Case law
Supreme Court of Justice, case 3ra-589/18 (Lux-Stil SRL)
16 May 2018
Upheld the lower courts: under Law 291/2016, art. 3(1) to (3) gambling other than casino maintenance is a state monopoly managed through LNM, and under art. 55(4) licences for activities not provided for in the new law are invalid, so a pre-2017 gambling licence could not be reissued.
Licensing
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Barriers to entry
- Online gambling, betting, lotteries and slot halls are not open to private licensing. Private capital takes part only as a partner of LNM under a public-private partnership; the current partners were selected for contracts signed on 23 April 2018. Only land-based casino maintenance can be licensed.
Licence types
Licence for casino maintenance (Licență pentru activitate de întreținere a cazinoului)
- Scope
- Land-based casino operation only; the one gambling activity outside the state monopoly. Issued by the Public Services Agency under Law 160/2011 on regulation of entrepreneurial activity by authorisation.
- Fee basis
- Licensing fee on issue or extension of MDL 600,000 per gaming table and MDL 130,000 per roulette operating unit; MDL 3,600 to amend or copy and MDL 16,000 for a duplicate.
- Renewal terms
- Extension charged at the same per-table and per-roulette-unit fee; ASP processes issue or extension within 10 working days.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Player winnings tax
- 18% withheld by the payer on winnings from games of chance (Fiscal Code art. 90^1(3^3)). Lottery and sports betting winnings up to 1% of the personal exemption per win are not taxable, but that exemption does not apply to winnings obtained through electronic communications networks (Fiscal Code art. 20 p1). Current wording as quoted in the Government's synthesis table on the 2027 fiscal package.
- Withholding mechanism
- The payer of winnings withholds and remits the 18% tax (Fiscal Code art. 90^1).
- Tax base
- No dedicated gambling duty on operators' gross gaming revenue was identified. The Ministry of Finance describes organisers' existing fiscal obligations as licensing fees and income tax. The state also takes LNM's dividends; LNM reports contributions to the national public budget of MDL 504,560,848 for 2025.
Scheduled changes
- 6% of deposits and ticket prices from 1 Jan 2027Proposed
6% vice tax on participation in gambling and lotteries, charged on deposits into gaming accounts and on lottery ticket prices, collected by the organiser
Earmarked levies
- Share of gambling company dividends for local cinema (Law 291/2016, art. 51(5)(c), as amended by Law 187/2025): Up to 20% of dividends paid to the budget by gambling companies (Development of the local cinema industry (cinematography fund))
Compliance
- Minimum age
- 18+
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- Central monitoring system
- Under the PPP, an IT system transmits data on gaming equipment, winnings paid and other financial and operational information to the State Tax Service through the state online monitoring system, and a separate system screens out players under 21 for slot gaming.
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Minimum age by vertical
- Online casino: 21+
- Online sports betting: 18+
- Lottery and iLottery: 18+
Advertising
- Advertising permitted
- Yes
- Watershed
- 22:00 to 07:00 for audiovisual programmes sponsored by organisers of low social risk gambling.
- Mandatory warnings
- Warnings about the negative impact of gambling must take up at least 20% of the time or area of the advertising material.
- Penalties for breach
- Contravention fines for placing or broadcasting gambling advertising in breach of Law 291/2016: 60 to 120 conventional units for individuals, 120 to 180 for officials and 200 to 300 for legal entities.
Restrictions
- Audiovisual programmes sponsored by organisers of low social risk gambling may be advertised only between 22:00 and 07:00.
- Audiovisual programmes about sports competitions or events broadcast live by a provider with national coverage may carry such advertising.
- Lottery advertising no larger than A4 may be displayed at the retail outlets that sell the lottery products.
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Yes
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Not yet verified
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Blocklist size
- 8,065 (as of 8 Oct 2026)
- Operator liability
- The Public Services Agency identifies websites, platforms and applications offering unauthorised gambling and publishes the list; ARCOM then has internet providers block them under Law 291/2016, art. 50^1(3). Providers report blocking rounds since January 2022, the latest on 7 October 2026.
Timeline
16 Dec 2016
Law 291/2016 on games of chance adopted, creating the state monopoly through LNM and repealing the 1999 gambling law
23 Apr 2018
PPP contracts 1/09 (lotteries and betting, NGM) and 2/09 (gaming machines and online games, Novomatic) signed
1 Jan 2021
Law 257/2020 in force: ASP to identify websites offering unauthorised gambling
10 Jan 2025
Law 302/2024 published, revising the gambling advertising rules
8 Sept 2026
Government approves the 2027 fiscal package with a 6% vice tax on gambling and lotteries
8 Oct 2026
ASP list of unauthorised gambling sites updated to 8,065 domains
Outlook
Parliament is due to examine the 2027 fiscal package, including the 6% vice tax on gambling deposits and lottery tickets, which the Government wants in force from 1 January 2027. The list of blocked unauthorised gambling sites continues to grow; it reached 8,065 domains in October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a private operator get an online gambling licence in Moldova?
- No. Law 291/2016 makes all gambling except land-based casino maintenance a state monopoly managed through Loteria Națională a Moldovei. Private companies take part only as LNM's partners in public-private partnerships, the current ones signed in April 2018.
- Which websites can legally offer gambling to Moldovan players?
- LNM's own platforms: 7777.md for sports betting, e-tickets and online lotteries, and Slot.md for online slots. Unauthorised sites are listed by the Public Services Agency, 8,065 domains on 8 October 2026, and blocked by internet providers.
- How are gambling winnings taxed?
- The payer withholds 18% of gambling winnings. Lottery and sports betting winnings up to 1% of the personal exemption per win are exempt, except winnings obtained through electronic communications networks.
- What is the proposed vice tax?
- A 6% tax on money deposited into gaming accounts and on lottery ticket prices, calculated and paid by the organiser by the 25th of the following month. The Government approved it on 8 September 2026 for 2027; Parliament must still adopt it.
- Is gambling advertising allowed?
- Only in limited form since January 2025: sponsored audiovisual programmes for low social risk gambling between 22:00 and 07:00, live national sports broadcasts and small lottery displays at points of sale, with warnings covering at least 20% of the ad.
- How much does a gambling licence cost in Moldova?
- For the Licence for casino maintenance (Licență pentru activitate de întreținere a cazinoului): Licensing fee on issue or extension of MDL 600,000 per gaming table and MDL 130,000 per roulette operating unit; MDL 3,600 to amend or copy and MDL 16,000 for a duplicate. Last verified 15 Oct 2026.
- Who regulates gambling in Moldova?
- The Public Services Agency (ASP) regulates gambling in Moldova. Other authorities with a role include Loteria Națională a Moldovei (LNM) and Ministry of Finance (Ministerul Finanțelor).
Glossary and directory
Glossary terms for this profile
Sources
Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. Tier 2: other official sources such as ministries, parliaments, courts and statistics agencies. Tier 3: established trade press, used to find and date the primary source. Tier 4: law firm and adviser guides, used as secondary confirmation. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.
- Supreme Court of Justice, Civil, Commercial and Administrative Board, ruling of 16 May 2018 in case 3ra-589/18, quoting Law 291/2016 arts. 3(1) to (3) and 55
Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova (jurisprudenta.csj.md) (translated)
Quotes Law 291/2016 as in force in 2017 to 2018; the consolidated text on legis.md could not be opened.
Tier 1Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 16 May 2018 - Supreme Court of Justice, ruling of 27 November 2019 in case 3ra-1388/19, on LNM's powers under Law 291/2016 arts. 2, 3, 19, 33 and 40
Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova (jurisprudenta.csj.md) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 27 Nov 2019 - Licence for casino maintenance: terms and fees
Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - List of websites, platforms and applications through which unauthorised gambling is accessed (updated 8 October 2026, 8,065 entries)
Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 8 Oct 2026 - ASP powers in the organisation and conduct of games of chance (Law 257/2020 in force from 1 January 2021)
Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 19 Jan 2021 - Management Report 2025 of the executive body of S.A. Loteria Națională a Moldovei
Loteria Națională a Moldovei (state-owned monopoly operator) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - 7777.md: LNM's official online platform for sports betting, e-tickets and lotteries (minimum age 18)
Loteria Națională a Moldovei (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Slot.md: LNM's official online slot platform (minimum age 21)
Loteria Națională a Moldovei (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Legislation: laws applicable to LNM, including Law 291/2016
Loteria Națională a Moldovei (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Legislation: Government decisions and orders applicable to LNM, including Government Decision 820/2017
Loteria Națională a Moldovei (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Fiscal and customs policy for 2027 approved by the Government
Government of the Republic of Moldova (gov.md) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 8 Sept 2026 - Draft law amending certain normative acts (simplification of fiscal and customs legislation), Government sitting file NU-599-MF-2026, with synthesis table quoting the Fiscal Code in force
Government of the Republic of Moldova (gov.md) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 8 Sept 2026 - Explanatory note to the draft law on simplification of fiscal and customs legislation (vice tax on gambling and lotteries)
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Draft Government decision on the cinematography fund (file 76-MC-2026), citing Law 291/2016 art. 51(5)(c) as amended by Law 187/2025
Government of the Republic of Moldova (gov.md) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 15 Oct 2026 - Unauthorised gambling sites blocked at the request of public authorities (ISP notice citing Law 291/2016 art. 50^1(3) and the ARCOM decision)
Moldcell (translated)
Tier 4Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 7 Oct 2026 - The regulatory framework for gambling advertising has been revised (Law 302 of 19 December 2024)
Monitorul Fiscal FISC.MD (translated)
Tier 3Accessed 15 Oct 2026Published 13 Jan 2025