The Romanian regulator ONJN has published its annual report detailing the activities during the first year of President Vlad-Christian Soare's mandate, covering the period from April 25, 2025, to April 25, 2026. Here are the key highlights from the iGaming segment of the report:
Control and Sanctions:
- 3,500 inspections of online operators
- $268,000 in fines
- 80 proposals to the ONJN Committee for sanctions against online operators
Combating the Illegal Segment:
- 300 unlicensed iGaming sites blacklisted
- 60 orders for the removal of illegal content (98% compliance rate)
- Under Law 1412025, online operators are required to submit monthly reports to ONJN regarding attempts by Romanian players to access unlicensed brands
Digitalization:
- Legislative changes have allowed ONJN to allocate unused portions of operators' contributions to responsible gaming programs for regulatory digitalization
- Procurement procedures have been launched for a self-exclusion platform with biometric verification and player authenticity checks, as well as monitoring systems for operator activity and automation of internal processes
Self-Exclusion:
In January 2026, ONJN submitted to the Ministry of Finance a draft Emergency Government Ordinance (OUG) proposing a unified self-exclusion procedure mandatory for all operators. This project includes clearly defined self-exclusion periods, a ban on revoking self-exclusion during the set period, the right for self-excluded players to reclaim deposited funds if they access games in violation of the law, and empowering the Romanian Police to control alongside ONJN.
The maximum fine for violating operators is set at $22,300, with the risk of license suspension.
Player Protection:
€5 million has been allocated for the non-repayable funding of the Conștient și Liber program (to be implemented from August to December 2026) aimed at the prevention, treatment of gambling addiction, and research.
Additionally, the regulator highlighted ongoing legislative reforms, compensation for damages for 2023-2024 as per the reports from the Court of Accounts, information campaigns, and a helpline for vulnerable players.