Romania’s National Gambling Office (ONJN) has formally notified tech giants Google and Meta to immediately remove sponsored ad campaigns promoting unlicensed online casinos targeting Romanian consumers. The regulator confirmed that several adverts promoted gambling sites that appear on its blacklist.
Highlights of the Story
- The ONJN found adverts on social media promoting gambling sites that appear on its blacklist.
- The regulator reiterated its stance against illegal gambling, further criminalising payment services, content, promotion, IT, and related services facilitating illicit gambling sites.
- ONJN is under public scrutiny following reports of its failure to implement basic monitoring systems as per established protocols.
Tech Giants Under the Scanner for Promoting Illicit Online Casinos
Romania’s gambling watchdog has taken a strict stance against tech giants Meta and Google, strongly urging them to remove paid ads promoting unlawful gambling websites targeting players from within the country. The formal nudge comes hot on the heels of the ONJN discovering several sponsored ads promoting online casinos that appear on its blacklist.
The regulator found several of these campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and Google search results. The promoted websites are banned under Romanian law, and promoting them amounts to a serious offence, with fines ranging between €9,900 and €19,800. Apart from the penalty, the authorities can confiscate any revenue generated from illegal gambling advertisements.
The ONJN has notified both tech giants to conduct a detailed review and remove unauthorised ads immediately. The regulator has also asked both companies to submit detailed reports of the accounts running these campaigns, including generated revenue. The regulator has also urged Google and Meta to set up monitoring systems to ensure unlicensed gambling operators cannot exploit their services.
The gambling watchdog further reiterated its stance on illegal online gambling, classifying all acts related to serving and promoting such services as a “criminal offence”. Any individual or organisation facilitating content, promotion, IT, or payment services to illicit gambling operators is liable to face criminal proceedings.
ONJN Stepping Up Efforts
The ONJN’s strict stance comes amid growing criticism about its failure to rein in illegal gambling operators in Romania. According to a local report, due to mounting political pressure, the government was planning to abolish the regulator following the loss of nearly €1 billion in gambling revenue to illicit operators.
The news started spreading following the appointment of Vlad-Cristian Soare as the president of the ONJN. Despite Soare’s pledge of restoring professionalism and decency within the organisation, the ground reality was drastically different. Grey areas, insufficient oversight, and growing discontent among users highlighted that restoring trust would be a challenge.
Romania’s Court of Accounts recently found the ONJN directly responsible for the €1 billion loss in gambling taxes between 2019 and 2023. The audit highlighted several discrepancies in the regulator’s infrastructure. For starters, the regulator used outdated IT systems, which failed to check whether operators were offering fair RTP values.
Next, the ONJN failed to keep track of licensed operators and their earnings, potentially allowing them to underreport revenue and underpay taxes. Compounding the issue was the operator’s inability to adopt the 2019 tax reforms, which introduced a 2% monthly gambling tax on online participation. Among the regulator’s most anticipated actions was the decision to introduce a national self-exclusion system, allowing players to opt out of gambling services via the regulator’s website.
This development followed increasing public criticism, particularly as 17 other EU member states had already implemented self-exclusion systems. Romania’s delayed response highlighted broader regulatory shortcomings and spurred lawmakers into action. While these reforms may not resolve all challenges immediately, they reflect a meaningful shift in priorities, namely placing player protection and responsible gambling at the forefront of the national agenda.