Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has just announced its agenda for 2026. The gambling regulator has outlined measures to reinforce compliance and regulatory oversight across the sector. The move comes amidst months of uncertainty as a result of turmoil within the organisation. All eyes will be on the gambling watchdog as it executes strategies to regain control over the market.
ONJN Reaffirms Commitment to Responsible Regulatory Framework: Key Insights
- Enforcement remains ONJN’s primary objective in 2026. The regulator is also preparing to launch a WhatsApp reporting channel for citizens to flag suspicious gambling machines.
- The gambling watchdog is preparing to launch a nationwide self-exclusion program to bolster responsible gambling, as well as a geolocation-based QR system for citizens to verify the authenticity of gaming machines.
- ONJN has approved a €5 million public fund that will be available to local authorities and civic help groups for prevention, treatment, and research on gambling harm.
Chairman Highlights Difficult 9 Months in Office; Pledges to Improve Regulatory Oversight and Enforcement
Romania’s national gambling regulator has been going through difficult times. Officials believe that 2026 will be the year when accountability finally returns to the sector. After years of controversies and proposed regulatory reforms, ONJN is finally ready to enforce regulatory compliance and bolster responsible gambling.
In a press release dated December 31, ONJN has published its agenda for 2026. ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare signed three orders in the last month of the year, directly affecting gambling regulation and oversight. Soare, who took over at the helm from Gheorghe Gabriel Gheorghe in May, has had a difficult nine months in office.
The reforms have come at a time when ONJN is recovering from allegations of corruption and incompetence, which resulted in a €1 billion loss in gambling taxes between 2019 and 2023. Soare addressed the difficulties that the regulator faced in 2025 and reiterated the regulator’s commitment to improving enforcement and oversight.
Soare said:
We are ending a difficult year, in which the change was neither simple nor comfortable. The nine months at the helm of the National Gambling Office marked me deeply, not only professionally, but also humanly. We found serious problems, including institutional integrity that we started to correct through firm decisions and concrete measures.
The ONJN Chairman emphasised the need for combating black market gambling operations and focusing on the way ahead.
Soare continued:
The results are not perfect, but they are real. And the stake remains simple: protecting citizens, combating the black market and building a solid institution capable of getting rid of past practices. It is not a linear road, nor is it comfortable. Some things could have been done better, and I assume it. But we have not given up on one essential thing: the belief that the state must work in the interest of the people, not against them.
ONJN Outlines 2026 Agenda, Emphasises Player Protection
The gambling watchdog is planning to introduce several initiatives later this year, starting with a reporting channel on WhatsApp for citizens to report suspicious gambling machines. In 2025, ONJN had ordered Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google, to remove ads promoting illegal gambling platforms.
Consumer safety will remain the regulator’s top priority in 2026 as well. ONJN plans to launch a centralised self-exclusion program and a geolocation-based QR system integrated into the central database, allowing players to validate the authenticity of gaming machines. These measures will streamline player protection and enforcement.
ONJN will directly monitor the self-exclusion database. The regulator will also introduce new technology for automatically monitoring transactions and bonuses, as well as launch a redesigned website and petitions portal. In December, the gambling watchdog unveiled a €5 million public fund for the treatment and research into gambling harm.
Romania is currently undergoing a major gambling reform. More than 20 legislative proposals regarding the gambling sector had reached the Senate by the end of 2025. Parties within the ruling coalition government have previously called for stricter enforcement measures, including increasing the legal gambling age to 21 years.
Lawmakers had previously discussed plans to align Romania’s land-based gambling industry with the tourism sector to boost revenue. Supporters of the bill believe that the amendments will create economic opportunities for local communities by attracting foreign investments, creating employment opportunities, and increasing tax revenue.
2026 will be a test for the Romanian gambling regulator’s commitment to consumer protection. With several plays in motion, it remains to be seen if ONJN can revive its credibility as a reputable gambling regulator or whether Romania’s gambling market will continue to be flooded by black market platforms.