Romania orders Meta, Google to take down illegal gambling ads
Romania’s gambling regulator, the National Office for Gambling (ONJN), has reportedly issued formal notice to Meta and Google after discovering sponsored advertisements for unlicenced gambling operators on their platforms. The notice demanded that the platforms immediately remove such ads, a move marking a major crackdown as Romania looks to tighten control over its rapidly expanding online gambling market.
Ads from regulators’ blacklist on platforms
The tech giants were running paid ads for gambling sites that appear on ONJN’s official blacklist on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, as well as appearing in Google search results. These sites are illegal under Romanian law and promoting them in any form is a serious offence that can result in fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 lei (€9,900 to €19,800). In addition to financial penalties, authorities can confiscate any revenue derived from illegal advertising.
The ads targeted Romanians and encouraged illegal gambling, strictly prohibited under the Romanian legislation. The regulator has requested Meta and Google to conduct investigations and suspend the unauthorised adverts immediately. Additionally, both platforms were urged to provide detailed information about the accounts running these campaigns, including the revenue they generate. The regulator also asked for enhanced monitoring mechanisms to ensure that unlicenced operators cannot exploit these platforms again.
Meanwhile, the regulator has reiterated that in the country. Any individuals or organisations providing payment services, content, promotion or IT services to unlicenced gambling operators are liable to face criminal charges for their involvement in facilitating illegal gambling.
ONJN under hot waters
ONJN’s recent enforcement action comes amid growing criticism of its own performance. Recently, it was reported by local newspaper Adevărul that the Romanian government is set to abolish the ONJN. The decision comes after months of political pressure, growing public frustration, and an audit that revealed Romania lost nearly €1 billion in gambling tax revenue due to regulatory failures. The also comes shortly after Vlad-Cristian Soare was appointed to lead the regulator, with hopes that he could clean up years of dysfunction. However, despite Soare’s pledges of “decency” and professionalism, real reform quickly hit a wall. Legal grey areas, messy oversight, and growing public anger made it clear that restoring trust wouldn’t be easy.
Billions lost in taxes
Romania’s Court of Accounts says the country lost nearly €1 billion in gambling taxes between 2019 and 2023 because of the ONJN. The audit painted a picture of a regulator stuck in the past—running on outdated IT systems, failing to check whether return-to-player rates were accurate, and barely keeping track of who was licenced or paying what. Compounding these issues was the agency’s inability to adapt after the 2019 tax reform, which introduced a 2 percent monthly tax on online gambling participation fees.
Among the most anticipated reforms under ONJN’s watch was the creation of a national self-exclusion system, allowing players to opt out of gambling online via the regulator’s website—a significant improvement over the current process. This drew sharp criticism owing to seventeen EU member states already establishing nationwide self-exclusion registers for gambling. Romania has recently been shaken by revelations of regulatory failures, followed by a wave of new initiatives aimed at protecting players—including the potential recognition of gambling addiction as a mental disorder.
