ONJN the Gambling Office of Romania has convened its Consultative Council to discuss gambling reforms, as the regulator faces pressure to address inconsistent rules and rebuild confidence in its oversight.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday, 18 November at 11:00. Its agenda covers addiction treatment, self-exclusion, illegal online gambling and the record keeping of gambling licences for auditing and diligence.
As SBC News reported on 2 November, ONJN is reviewing national gambling legislation to address outdated provisions and inconsistencies across the sector. The council meeting gives that review a clearer agenda, although no deadline has been announced for completing the overhaul.
In its initial reform statement, ONJN said its legislative working group had been given “a mandate to analyze and harmonize existing legislation”. The stated objective was “bringing order to the entire regulatory framework”.
The review was ordered by ONJN President Valentin-Ioan Tomescu and follows a wider administrative assessment. iGaming Expert reported on 16 September that his initial priorities covered digitalisation, staffing and addiction treatment. That assessment identified staff shortages and a need to improve administrative workflows, with audit requirements to be translated into actions carrying deadlines and departmental accountability.
Player protection will feature prominently in the forthcoming discussions. Council members will examine the development of a national programme to treat gambling addiction, alongside the legislative changes required and their effects on gambling operations.
“Discussions will focus on developing a national programme to treat gambling addiction, the legislative changes needed in this area, and the effects of new regulations on the organisation and operation of gambling activities,” ONJN stated in its latest announcement.
The council will also consider how self-exclusion procedures can be applied consistently. This remains an important test of whether Romania can translate player protection obligations into safeguards that work across its gambling market.
Failures & fallouts
Other agenda items concern combating unlicensed online gambling and establishing methods for recording player transactions at traditional gambling venues. The announcement does not specify which reporting systems or additional obligations might follow.
ONJN also intends to consult on developing and implementing a framework regulation covering online activities, fixed-odds betting and land-based gambling.
The authority said the consultations should allow problems to be examined from several perspectives and produce solutions capable of being translated into “coherent legislative and administrative measures”.
The breadth of the agenda reflects the scale of the task facing Tomescu, whose appointment followed another abrupt change at the top of the regulator.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan appointed Tomescu on 21 August, replacing Vlad-Cristian Soare. The appointment decision gave Tomescu the rank of secretary of state. Soare said he had received no explanation for his dismissal.
The leadership change came amid political scrutiny of ONJN’s performance and questions over its ability to supervise licensed operators, collect gambling-related revenues and maintain institutional integrity.
An audit by Romania’s Court of Accounts covering 2019–2023 identified serious weaknesses in licence supervision, authorisation fees and tax verification. The audit that drew national headlines revealed regulatory liabilities of between €630m and €900m arising from the findings.
The audit raised concerns about failures to verify operator data and reconcile reported figures with tax declarations. Those findings put the regulator’s enforcement practices under scrutiny alongside the wording of the legislation itself.
Separate corruption investigations involving former senior ONJN figures have added to the damage. These concern allegations requiring determination through the legal process, but have intensified questions about the authority’s governance.
Test of stability
The industry is in dire need of stability. Stasya Yautodzyeva, Head of Analytics at 4H Agency, said the meeting responds to industry concerns that have remained unresolved for months.
According to Yautodzyeva, trade associations AOPJNR and AOJND have sought formal consultations since May over inconsistent regulatory interpretations and the consequences of Emergency Ordinance No. 7/2026.
“Since May, two major trade associations (AOPJNR and AOJND) have called for formal consultations over inconsistent regulatory interpretations and the consequences of amendments introduced by Emergency Ordinance No. 7/2026.”
4H Agency said the reform gave municipalities greater control over land-based gambling, creating uncertainty around local authorisations, licence renewals, fees paid following slot machine bans, venue closures and differing local procedures.
The reform granted municipalities greater control over land-based gambling, creating additional challenges for operators including local authorization requirements, uncertainty over renewals, fees paid after slot machines bans, venue closures and inconsistent local procedures.”
These difficulties have been compounded by weaknesses within ONJN, she added, citing inadequate financial and technical oversight and excessive reliance on operator reporting identified in state audits during 2025–2026.
Yautodzyeva said Tomescu’s appointment offers an opportunity to address unresolved issues concerning self-exclusion, offshore gambling and enforcement, but warned that restructuring must produce tangible results.
As such, “November consultation could become an important step toward restoring dialogue and regulatory clarity, but its value will depend on concrete outcomes”
“Romania remains an attractive yet unstable gambling market, still dealing with the consequences of regulatory failures and successive legislative changes,” she said.
“Whether ONJN’s restructuring delivers meaningful improvements or merely administrative changes will depend on the new leadership’s willingness to engage with industry stakeholders and act on their concerns.”
