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Romania’s gambling regulator blacklisted more than 300 unlicensed websites and launched a €5 million responsible gambling fund during the 12 months to April 2026, according to its annual activity report.
The National Office for Gambling (ONJN) published the report on 27 April, covering April 2025 to April 2026. It details enforcement action, digital infrastructure upgrades and the first formal state-funded mechanism for problem gambling treatment in the country.
Black Market Enforcement
Legislative amendments via Law no. 141/2025 expanded ONJN’s authority to issue orders for the removal of illegal gambling content. Class II operators are now required to submit monthly reports detailing player attempts to access unlicensed platforms.
Over the reporting period, ONJN issued more than 60 illegal content removal orders and added over 300 unlicensed gambling websites to its blacklist. The regulator also launched investigations into alleged GGR manipulation and unpaid tax discrepancies, filing 70 criminal complaints and revoking 60 licences.
Separately, approved amendments to Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 82/2023 in 2024 restricted slot machine placement to localities with populations above 15,000.
The enforcement push comes as Romania’s market has drawn significant operator attention. Super Technologies’ acquisition of Maxbet Online earlier this year confirmed the country’s weight in the Central and Eastern European market.
First State Funding for Treatment
ONJN allocated €5 million ($5.8 million) in non-reimbursable state funding to responsible gambling for the first time under its “Aware and Free” programme.
The budget was divided across three areas: NGO-led prevention and protection projects; infrastructure development for addiction treatment centres managed by public authorities; and support for research activities. Implementation runs from August to December 2026.
Self-Exclusion Reforms
ONJN inherited a backlog of more than 30,000 unresolved self-exclusion requests at the start of the mandate. The system now covers approximately 54,000 self-excluded individuals.
The regulator drafted an Emergency Ordinance to harmonise self-exclusion procedures across land-based and online operators. Under the proposal, ONJN would administer a unified framework requiring mandatory ID verification at venues and cooling-off periods, with fines of up to 100,000 lei and licence suspensions for non-compliance. The ordinance has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and awaits government approval.
Digital Register and Device Traceability
ONJN launched a cloud-native public digital register of physical gaming devices, described as the first system of its kind in Romania’s Government Private Cloud. Each entry covers location, ownership, licence validity and manufacturer details.
All registered gaming machines are now required to carry QR codes linking to their register entries and to be fitted with geolocation tracking. ONJN positioned the system as a European first in device-level traceability.
The digital register is one of four IT projects aimed at automating operator monitoring and internal control functions. The regulator candidly acknowledged “serious shortcomings” in earlier oversight, identified by the Romanian Court of Accounts in its 2023–24 reports, attributing the failures to a lack of digital infrastructure and inability to access operator server data.
Control Activities and Sanctions
During the reporting period, ONJN conducted approximately 11,000 control activities, issued around 10 million lei in fines, disabled or confiscated 260 gaming devices and filed 70 criminal complaints.
By sector, land-based operations accounted for roughly 7,000 inspections and approximately 8.1 million lei ($1.8 million) in fines. Remote operators faced around 3,500 controls and fines of approximately 1.2 million lei ($276,000). Other associated entities received around 500 controls and 800,000 lei ($184,000) in penalties.
ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare addressed the pace and difficulty of the reform effort directly.
“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. The direction has been maintained, the projects have continued and the investigations and initiatives initiated must be followed through.”
Romania’s activity report arrives as compliance investment consolidates as the dominant theme across regulated markets. The 2025 iGaming Regulatory Wrapped identified Eastern Europe among the most active regions for enforcement and legislative development. ONJN’s next milestone will be the government’s response to the pending self-exclusion Emergency Ordinance, which sets the compliance floor for every operator active in the market.
Source: ONJN
