Vlad Soare has issued a programme of objectives for the ONJN and its governance of Romanian gambling, as the Office remains under extreme scrutiny and awaiting political judgements in 2026.
ONJN, Romania’s National Office for Gambling, has set out its programme for 2026 aimed at strengthening compliance enforcement and restoring regulatory standards across the market.
The objectives of the programme have been pledged by ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare, who has positioned the strategy as a necessary step to restore trust and confidence in a regulator whose governance has come under sustained criticism.
A former lecturer at the University of Bucharest, Soare assumed leadership of ONJN in May 2025, following the resignation of former president Gabriel Gheorghe, who stepped down amid scrutiny over a series of audit failures. The high-profile failings were linked to regulatory shortcomings that reportedly left close to €1bn in tax and authorisation fees uncollected.
Reflecting on the regulator’s actions in 2025, Soare described the year as a “non-linear and uncomfortable path”, but one that nonetheless delivered “tangible progress in the fight against illegal gambling and towards greater transparency”.
Operating under intense political scrutiny, Soare stated that ONJN had delivered “concrete achievements”, primarily through enhanced enforcement activity. Actions included the confiscation of more than 200 gaming machines, the blacklisting of over 200 illegal gambling websites, and the filing of 48 criminal complaints linked to financial crime and unlicensed operations.
Among the new initiatives highlighted was the launch of ONJN’s first WhatsApp reporting channel, enabling members of the public to notify of suspected illegal gaming machines and strengthen land-based enforcement. In the digital sector, ONJN reported a 98% takedown rate for illegal gambling content served to Romanian audiences across platforms operated by Meta, Google and TikTok.
Enforcement will remain ONJN’s central priority in 2026, supported by the planned Q1 rollout of two major systems: a unified National Self-Exclusion scheme covering both retail and online gambling, and a geolocation-based QR system integrated into the regulator’s central register.
“Any citizen can now verify where gaming machines are located, who owns them and whether they are legal,” Soare wrote.
On player safeguards, ONJN will manage a new single self-exclusion process, managed solely by the regulator. The procedure will introduce clear exclusion periods, a defined distinction between account closure and self-exclusion, and a “cool-off” phase preventing immediate re-entry.
Further technical upgrades will include automated monitoring of transactions, bonuses and operator declarations to detect black-market activity, alongside the launch of a new electronic document platform. The latter will allow all operator interactions with ONJN to take place fully online, supported by a redesigned website and a dedicated petitions portal.
ONJN wants modernisation
Aware of the political scrutiny surrounding gambling, Soare has supported the overhaul of Romania’s Law on Games of Chance . Soare argues that authorities must cooperate to design a “coherent and efficient legislative framework” to replace what he described as “a morally outdated Gambling Law”.
End-of-year proceedings saw 20 legislative proposals submitted to Parliament, calling for sweeping changes to the governance of gambling. Revisions under the new four-party “pro-Europe” coalition saw the Liberal Party (PNL) call for Romania’s gambling age to be raised to 21, submitted under the mandate of “protecting the age of innocence”.
Elsewhere, coalition member Save Romania Union (USR) submitted a series of amendments calling for a ban on untargeted advertising and sports sponsorships. USR has maintained that the overhaul of Romanian gambling regulation should include the disbanding of ONJN, citing a loss of trust in its governance across Romanian public institutions.
Back to institutional accountability
Soare has acknowledged that 2026 will be a decisive year for ONJN, with the regulator’s future set to be shaped by ongoing political and regulatory proceedings. He has openly recognised that governance reforms, legislative outcomes and parliamentary scrutiny will ultimately determine the authority’s long-term role within Romania’s gambling framework.
Despite this uncertainty, ONJN has reiterated its responsibility to continue governing Romania’s gambling market throughout 2026, maintaining enforcement, licensing oversight and consumer protection measures as structural reforms are debated at a political level.
As part of this commitment, the regulator has earmarked €5m in funding for 2026 to support local authorities and civil societies in tackling problem gambling through community-driven prevention, education and intervention initiatives. The programme represents ONJN’s first large-scale, structured investment in harm-reduction measures provided by local authorities.
In closing, Soare acknowledged that ONJN’s reform path has not been without missteps, but reaffirmed his conviction that “the state must function in the interest of the people, not against them.” He pledged to continue correcting shortcomings while strengthening ONJN’s operational independence and public credibility.
“The results are not perfect, but they are real,” Soare concluded. “Our mission remains simple: to protect citizens, combat the black market, and build a strong institution capable of breaking with the practices of the past.”