(AsiaGameHub) –   Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has sped up multiple gambling reforms as it moves toward digitising supervision and intensifying actions against unlicensed operators.

The regulator’s activity report, released on Monday, also highlighted the creation of formal funding structures for treating problem gambling.

The report spans the timeframe from April 2025 to April 2026.

Strengthened black‑market enforcement

Through legislative changes under Law no. 141/2025, ONJN’s powers were broadened, permitting the regulator to order the takedown of unlawful gambling content and require Class II operators to submit monthly reports on player attempts to visit unlicensed online sites.

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

In the last year, ONJN has reportedly issued over 60 orders to remove illegal content and blacklisted more than 300 unlicensed gambling websites.

ONJN has initiated investigations into suspected manipulation of gross gaming revenue (GGR) and unpaid tax discrepancies. In response to these violations, the regulator has filed 70 criminal complaints and revoked 60 licences.

First formal funding stream for prevention and treatment

For the first time, ONJN allocated state funding to responsible‑gambling initiatives over the past year via the new “Aware and Free” programme. This programme was supported by a budget of €5 million ($5.8 million) in non‑reimbursable funds.

ONJN distributed the financing across three categories: prevention and protection projects led by NGOs, infrastructure development for addiction treatment centres run by public authorities, and support for research endeavors.

This funding transformed previously unallocated resources into concrete assistance for vulnerable gamblers. The program is scheduled to begin in August and continue through December.

Self‑exclusion and enhanced player protection

When the current mandate began, ONJN took over a backlog of more than 30,000 unprocessed self-exclusion requests. The regulator currently manages a system that includes around 54,000 self-excluded individuals.

The regulator has drafted an Emergency Ordinance intended to standardise self-exclusion procedures for both land-based and online gambling operators.

Under this proposal, ONJN would manage a unified self-exclusion framework that enforces mandatory ID verification at venues and cooling-off periods. It would also impose penalties for non-compliance, including fines of up to 100,000 lei and licence suspensions.

The ordinance has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and is currently awaiting government approval.

Digital register and device traceability

Another aspect of ONJN’s reforms was the rollout of a public digital register for physical gaming devices. This cloud‑native system, touted as the first of its kind in the Government Private Cloud, offers detailed data on every registered gaming machine, such as location, ownership, licence validity, and manufacturer.

To improve transparency and enforcement, each gaming device must now display a QR code that links to its register entry and be fitted with mandatory geolocation tracking.

ONJN described this register and traceability system as a unique mechanism in Europe. It is part of a wider package of four IT projects designed to automate operator monitoring, reporting procedures, and internal control functions.

The regulator openly acknowledged initial “serious shortcomings” in effective oversight, which were noted in earlier reports by the Romanian Court of Accounts (2023–24). These issues primarily arose from a lack of digital infrastructure and the inability to access operators’ server data.

Control activities and sanctions

Throughout the reporting period, ONJN carried out approximately 11,000 control activities, imposed about 10 million lei in fines, disabled or seized 260 gaming devices, and filed 70 criminal complaints.

A breakdown of enforcement by sector shows:

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

Vlad-Cristian Soare, President of ONJN, stated regarding 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 added, “the direction has been maintained, the projects have continued, and the investigations and initiatives initiated must be followed through.”

Romania was recently included in the Balkan Gaming Federation, a new collective focused on the West Balkans. It was created to coordinate policy, compliance, and commercial activities across the region without replacing existing national bodies.