Vlad Soare issued a programme of objectives for the ONJN and its governance of Romanian gambling. The Office faces intense scrutiny. It also awaits political decisions this year.
The National Office for Gambling of Romania (ONJN) has set out its programme for 2026. The plan targets strengthening compliance enforcement and restoring regulatory standards across the market.
Vlad-Cristian Soare, President of ONJN, pledged the programme’s objectives. He presented the strategy as a necessary step to restore trust and confidence in a regulator facing sustained criticism.
Former president Gabriel Gheorghe resigned in the middle of an inspection over a series of audit failures. Following his resignation, Soare assumed leadership of ONJN in May of the previous year. The high-profile failings stemmed from regulatory shortcomings that reportedly left nearly €1 billion in tax and authorization fees uncollected.
Reflecting on the regulator’s actions over the past year, Soare described it as a non-linear and uncomfortable path. Yet, he said it still delivered tangible progress in combating illegal gambling and improving transparency.
Primarily by enhanced enforcement activity, operating under intense political scrutiny, Soare said that ONJN had delivered clear achievements. Actions included the confiscation of more than 200 gaming machines and the blacklisting of over 200 illegal gambling websites. Authorities also filed 48 criminal complaints related to financial crime and unlicensed operations.
Among the new initiatives, ONJN launched its first WhatsApp reporting channel. This allows the public to notify authorities of suspected illegal gaming machines and helps strengthen land-based enforcement. In the digital sector, ONJN reported a 98% takedown rate for illegal gambling content targeting Romanian audiences across platforms operated by Meta, Google, and TikTok.
