NetEnt secures Romanian licences as operator deadlines near
Operators must ensure they use licensed suppliers before being able to upgrade their interim permits
NetEnt has been granted two supplier licences by Romanian authorities as the clock ticks down on operators wishing to obtain an operating licence before the expiration of their interim permits.
Romania’s National Gambling Office awarded NetEnt the class two licences to cover the supplier for the production and distribution of specialised gaming software and management and hosting facilities.
The licence awards comes as a number of operators near the end of their one-year interim licence period.
Those wishing to continue operating in the country must first gain a full operating licence but in order to do so have to ensure their suppliers are fully licensed in the country.
Both Netbet and Stanleybet were granted their Romanian interim licences on 1 July 2015, meaning they must gain a full licence before the end of June if they are to seamlessly continue operations in the country.
And the likes of PokerStars, Betfair, 888 and Unibet have until the end of August to successfully obtain their licences in order to not suffer any impact on their Romania-facing businesses.
“To ensure a continuous operation, each individual operator needs to obtain its full licence before the expiry date of its interim right or else would need to black-out until such time when it obtains its full licence,” Cosmina Simion, gaming lawyer and partner at Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, told EGR.
“The interim right cannot be prolonged,” she added.
Bet365 had hoped to gain a full licence but had its application revoked last year after the regulator judged the firm had continued to service customers before its interim licence start date.