Romania set to dismantle gambling regulator ONJN after regulatory failures exposed
The Romanian government is set to abolish the National Gambling Office (ONJN), the countrys primary gambling regulator, according to local newspaper Adev?rul. 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 Soares 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 wouldnt be easy.
Billions lost, trust broken
Romanias 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 The audit painted a picture of a regulator stuck in the pastrunning on outdated IT systems, failing to check whether return-to-player rates were accurate, and barely keeping track of who was licensed or paying what.
Compounding these issues was the agencys inability to adapt after the 2019 tax reform, which introduced a 2% monthly tax on online gambling participation fees.
Soare, who stepped into the role just weeks ago, had outlined plans to modernise ONJNs internal systems, improve staff recruitment, and collaborate more closely with the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF). But critics argued that these initiatives were too little, too late for a regulator that had lost public and political trust.
Reforms that never came
Among the most anticipated reforms under ONJNs watch was the creation of a national self-exclusion system, allowing players to opt out of gambling online via the regulators websitea significant improvement over the current process.
Yet progress stalled. The Senates Legal Committee pushed back the debate on two major gambling reform bills, asking for more time to look into legal questions, such as whether people should be allowed to reverse self-exclusion and how income-based spending limits would actually work. At the same time, some lawmakers started openly saying what many were already thinking: ONJN just wasnt up to the task. They called for its powers to be handed over to the Ministry of Finance and ANAF, arguing the agency lacked both credibility and the tools to do the job right.
Black market threat grows
As debates over reform continued, vulnerable players remained exposed. Advocacy groups and addiction specialists have warned that the continued delay in enforcing responsible gambling measures is driving consumers toward black market operators, which offer little to no player protection and operate beyond the reach of domestic regulation.
