Romania funds treatment, targets black market in first mandate year – ONJN

(AsiaGameHub) –   Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has intensified a range of gambling reforms, focusing on digitalising its supervisory capabilities and taking action against unlicensed operators.

The regulator’s activity report, released on Monday, also highlighted the creation of official funding channels for the treatment of problem gambling.

The report covers the period from April 2025 to April 2026.

Strengthened black‑market enforcement

Legal changes introduced by Law no. 141/2025 broadened ONJN’s powers, allowing it to mandate the takedown of illegal gambling content and to require monthly reports from class II operators about player attempts to reach unlicensed online sites.

Furthermore, amendments to the Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 82/2023, approved in 2024, resulted in slot machines being permitted only in localities with populations exceeding 15,000.

In the last year, ONJN is reported to have issued over 60 orders for the removal of illegal content and blocked access to more than 300 unlicensed gambling websites.

ONJN has also initiated probes into suspected manipulation of gross gaming revenue (GGR) and unpaid tax differences. In reaction to these violations, the regulator has submitted 70 criminal complaints and withdrawn 60 licenses.

First formal funding stream for prevention and treatment

For the first time in the past year, ONJN directed state funds to responsible gambling programs via the new “Aware and Free” initiative. The program had a budget of €5 million ($5.8 million) in grants that do not require repayment.

ONJN categorized the funding into three areas: prevention and protection projects run by NGOs, infrastructure improvements for public addiction treatment centers, and backing for research efforts.

This financing transformed previously unused resources into concrete aid for at-risk gamblers. The program’s rollout is scheduled to begin in August and continue through December.

Self‑exclusion and enhanced player protection

When the current administration began, ONJN was managing a backlog of more than 30,000 unresolved self-exclusion requests. The regulator currently oversees a system that includes roughly 54,000 self-excluded people.

The regulator has prepared an Emergency Ordinance intended to standardise self-exclusion processes for both brick-and-mortar and online gambling operators.

This proposal would see ONJN manage a centralised self-exclusion system that requires mandatory ID checks at venues and imposes waiting periods. It would also establish penalties for non-compliance, such as fines reaching 100,000 lei and license suspensions.

This ordinance is pending government endorsement and has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance.

Digital register and device traceability

Another element of ONJN’s reforms was the introduction of a public digital registry for physical gaming machines. The cloud-based system, described as the first of its type in the Government Private Cloud, offers comprehensive information on each registered device, such as its location, owner, license status, and maker.

To improve transparency and enforcement, every gaming device must now show a QR code that directs to its registry entry and must include compulsory geolocation tracking.

ONJN described this registry and tracking system as a distinctive European tool. It was one of four IT initiatives designed to automate the monitoring of operators, reporting procedures, and internal control tasks.

The regulator openly admitted to initial “serious shortcomings” in effective supervision, which were pointed out in previous Romanian Court of Accounts reports (2023–24). These issues primarily arose from insufficient digital systems and an inability to obtain data from operators’ servers.

Control activities and sanctions

Throughout the reporting period, ONJN carried out approximately 11,000 inspections, imposed fines totalling around 10 million lei, deactivated or seized 260 gaming devices, and lodged 70 criminal complaints.

A sector-by-sector breakdown of enforcement shows:

• Land-based operators: ~7,000 inspections, fines of approximately 8.1 million lei ($1.8 million).
• Remote (online) operators: ~3,500 inspections, fines of roughly 1.2 million lei ($276,000).
• Other associated entities: ~500 inspections, fines of about 800,000 lei ($184,000).

ONJN President, Vlad-Cristian Soare, commented on the reforms: “This year has shown that change is possible. It does not come easily and is not done without resistance. There have been roadblocks, opposition, and attempts to slow down essential projects, both from within and without.”

He continued, “the direction has been maintained, the projects have continued, and the investigations and initiatives initiated must be followed through.”

Romania was recently included as a member of the Balkan Gaming Federation, a new collective concentrating on the West Balkans. The federation was created to harmonise policy, compliance, and commercial operations throughout the region without supplanting current national authorities.