Romania Blocks 300 Sites and Launches €5M Treatment Fund as Polymarket Ban Holds in Court

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Romania’s gambling regulator published a one-year activity report under President Vlad-Cristian Soare, citing more than 300 unlicensed sites blocked, the country’s first state-funded gambling addiction program, and a recent court win that keeps Polymarket on the national blacklist. Romania Blocks 300 Sites and Launches €5M Treatment Fund as Polymarket Ban Holds in Court Key Takeaways: - Romania ONJN blocked over 300 illegal gambling sites and revoked 60 licenses in its 2025-2026 mandate year. - €5M Conștient și Liber fund marks Romania’s first state funding for gambling addiction treatment - Romanian court rejected Polymarket’s suspension request on April 1, keeping ONJN blacklist intact. Romania’s Gambling Regulator Shares Block List The Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN) published its activity report on April 24, summarising 12 months of enforcement and reform. The figures point to a reorientation toward black market enforcement. ONJN inspectors carried out approximately 11,000 control actions, issued fines totaling 10 million lei (about $2.2 million), revoked 60 operator licenses, and filed 70 criminal complaints. The regulator also issued more than 60 orders for the removal of illegal online content, with a reported 98% compliance rate, and added 300+ unlicensed websites to its national blocking list. “This year has shown that change is possible. It does not come easily and is not done without resistance. There have been blockages, opposition and attempts to slow down essential projects, both from inside and outside,” Soare said in the report’s accompanying statement, confirming that ongoing investigations would continue. A key structural change underpinning the enforcement push is the public register of gaming devices, launched by the ONJN in October 2025. The cloud-native system links each registered slot machine and video lottery terminal to a unique QR code, with mandatory geolocation tracking. The regulator has described it as the first of its kind among EU regulators. The legislation also expanded the agency’s authority to issue takedown orders for illegal gambling content under the EU Digital Services Act framework. The ONJN inherited approximately 30,000 unprocessed self-exclusion requests when Soare took office; the report says the registry now covers approximately 54,000 individuals. A draft emergency ordinance currently with Romania’s Ministry of Finance would unify the self-exclusion procedure across land-based and online operators, introduce a mandatory cool-off period, with penalties of up to 100,000 lei for non-compliance. The most concrete policy shift came on April 17, when ONJN opened applications for its Conștient și Liber (Aware and Free) program. The €5 million fund marks the first time the Romanian state has directly financed gambling addiction prevention and treatment. Applications close May 11, with implementation running August through December 2026. The activity report follows Soare’s April 1 announcement of a Bucharest court ruling that rejected Polymarket’s request to suspend ONJN’s blacklist decision. “The decision to include Polymarket on the blacklist is not about technology, but about the law. Whether you bet in lei or in crypto, if you wager money on a future outcome under counterparty conditions, we are talking about gambling that must be licensed,” Soare said at the time. “ONJN will not permit blockchain to be turned into a screen for illegal betting.” Tax Agency Starts Checking Crypto Traders in Romania Romania separately joined the Balkan Gaming Federation in March, a regional industry body coordinating policy across Western Balkans markets without supplanting national regulators. The Conștient și Liber program, device register rollout, and unified self-exclusion bill remain in early implementation phases. ONJN’s report acknowledged that several reforms still depend on legislative or budgetary follow-through.

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