Odeta Nestor, the former President of Romania’s National Gambling Office (ONJN), has been named in an investigation into alleged bribes given to the gambling regulator.
The original case claimed that a defendant under the initials ‘NCO’ was complicit in bribing an ONJN official to speed up or delay certain laws.
One particular transaction allegedly contained €100,000 ($114,636.50) and was made on behalf of an operator to avoid proper compliance checks for the business.
The money was also intended to persuade the authority to not contact the National Office for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering regarding the business operations.
Now, local media Newsweek Romania, claims that ‘NCO’ is Nestor Cristinela Odeta.
Odeta was responsible for leading the ONJN since its inception and since leaving the regulator in 2017 has worked as a consultant in the gambling industry.
Questions have since been raised over how much of the work completed during her stint with the ONJN was legitimate.
This is only strengthened by an investigation that found that most of the slot machine market was overseen by three companies that did not possess the necessary licences to do so.
For example, a slot machine inspector had to be licensed by the gambling industry, they could not be trained in radars or cooking equipment and carry that accreditation over.
The High Court of Cassation and Justice had confirmed as early as January 2023 that such licences were required for this calibre of work, but the companies continued to operate under the eye of the ONJN.
Earlier this year, the courts in Romania sided with the ONJN in classifying prediction market platform Polymarket as illegal gambling.
Prior to leading the ONJN, Nestor was the CFO for the National Romanian Lottery and the Director of Finance and Operations at both SC Monte Calm and SC Regent World
