Rational Group and GVC Holdings awarded full Romanian licences

onal Group and GVC Holdings have been granted long-term approval to continue to operate in the Romanian market by the country’s National Office for Gaming (ONJN).

The new licences for each company will come into effect on 1 September, with the pair having operated under interim licences since September 2015.

Amaya brands PokerStars and BetStars will continue to be available in Romania, while Full Tilt will no longer be available in the country to comply with regulatory requirements.

Full Tilt’s player base will be migrated to PokerStars.ro.

Amaya Vice-President of Corporate Communications, Eric Hollreiser, said of Rational Group securing a licence: “We are very happy to offer the world’s leading poker and sports betting brands to Romanians under a local regulatory framework.

“This demonstrates Amaya’s commitment to the responsible growth of online gambling by supporting local regulation that is good for players, good for operators, and provides revenue for regulators.”

The ONJN has also granted GVC a full and permanent 10-year licence to operate sports betting and casino games in the country through subsidiary Headlong Limited, as well as a class 2 licence to provide Headlong with relevant software and hosting services.

Headlong has operated in Romania under the Sportingbet brand and the terms of an interim licence since September 2015.

Chief Executive of GVC, Kenneth Alexander, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a permanent licence in Romania.

“It is an attractive and growing market where the Sportingbet brand is increasingly popular.

“We are focused on developing our product line there in order to attract new customers and grow our business.”