The Romanian National Gambling Office recently presented its first annual report card for the new regulatory term. This annual activity report, released on Monday, covers the full execution cycle from April 2025 to April 2026, focusing on three main directions: establishing a formal funding mechanism for problem gambling treatment with state finances for the first time, expanding enforcement powers through legislation to systematically clean up unlicensed operations, and advancing the automation system of digital registration and remote monitoring of gambling devices. Vlad-Christian Soare, the chairman of ONJN, admitted in the report that this year has proven that change is possible, but it is not easy, with resistance never disappearing from inside or outside, but the direction remains unchanged, and all initiated projects and investigations must be carried through to the end.
More than 60 illegal content removal orders and over 300 blacklisted websites
At the legislative level, Amendment 141/2025 equipped ONJN with sharper enforcement teeth. The regulatory body was authorized to issue orders to remove illegal gambling content and required second-tier operators to submit monthly reports detailing attempts by players to access unlicensed online platforms. Over the past year, ONJN has issued more than 60 illegal content removal orders, blacklisting over 300 unlicensed gambling websites. Investigations into suspected manipulation of gambling gross revenue data and unpaid tax discrepancies were also launched, with the regulatory body filing 70 criminal complaints and revoking 60 licenses in response to these violations. On the offline front, the government emergency decree amendment approved in 2024 has taken effect, restricting slot machines to areas with populations over 15,000.
5 million euros injected into addiction treatment, self-exclusion system expanded and upgraded
Over the past year, ONJN has for the first time allocated national funds through the new "Sobriety and Freedom" project to responsible gambling initiatives. The project operates with a non-refundable grant of 5 million euros, divided into three main lines: prevention and protection projects led by NGOs, infrastructure construction for addiction treatment centers managed by public institutions, and support for research activities. The realization of these funds marks the transformation of previously unallocated resources into substantial support for vulnerable gamblers, with the project implementation continuing from August to December this year.
In the field of self-exclusion, ONJN took over more than 30,000 pending self-exclusion applications at the beginning of its term. The regulatory body now operates a system covering about 54,000 self-excluded individuals and has drafted an emergency decree aimed at unifying self-exclusion procedures for offline and online gambling operators. According to the proposal, ONJN will manage a unified self-exclusion framework, enforcing mandatory ID verification and cooling-off periods at venues, with penalties for violations up to 100,000 lei in fines and license suspensions. The decree has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and is awaiting government approval.
Cloud-based digital registration and QR code tracking, from severe shortcomings to a European first
ONJN candidly acknowledged the previous regulatory deficiencies in the report. The Romanian Court of Auditors pointed out the severe lack of effective supervision in early reports from 2023 to 2024, mainly due to the absence of digital infrastructure and inability to access operator server data. In response, ONJN launched a publicly accessible physical gambling device digital registration system. This cloud-native system, claimed as a first in government private clouds, provides detailed data for each registered gambling device, including location, ownership, license validity, and manufacturer information. To enhance transparency and enforcement strength, each gambling device must now display a QR code linking to its registration entry and is equipped with a mandatory geographical tracking device. ONJN positions this registration and traceability system as a unique European mechanism, part of a package of four IT projects aimed at automating operator monitoring, reporting processes, and internal control functions.
During the reporting period, ONJN conducted about 11,000 enforcement inspection activities, issued approximately 10 million lei in fines, seized or confiscated 260 gambling devices, and filed 70 criminal complaints. Soare concluded that change will not come easily or without resistance, but the projects have continued, and investigations and measures must be persisted with.
PASA official website continues to track the digital transformation of European gambling regulation and the implementation of responsible gambling policies, noting that Romania's integrated model of device digital registration, unified self-exclusion, and national funding for treatment is providing a quantifiable reference for emerging gambling regulation in Central and Southern Europe.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
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