Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has added almost 800 illegal gambling websites to its blacklist, representing its largest single enforcement action against unlicensed online platforms.
The domains were identified through a tool developed to detect clone sites, which retain the same underlying platform while operating through different web addresses. The additions follow approximately 370 earlier blacklisting decisions under the regulator’s current leadership.
ONJN said around 1,180 sites, including prediction market platform Polymarket, have been blacklisted since President Vlad-Cristian Soare took office in April 2025.
By comparison, approximately 1,500 domains were added between ONJN’s establishment in 2013 and April 2025.
The increase forms part of a wider enforcement programme introduced after the regulator faced criticism over its monitoring of licensed operators and the collection of gambling taxes.
ONJN’s 2026 objectives include automated oversight of transactions, bonuses and operator declarations, alongside a public register connecting gaming machines to QR codes and geolocation data.
Romania regulates online gambling under Emergency Government Ordinance No. 77/2009. Licensed operators must maintain a permanent establishment in the country and comply with ONJN’s licensing, reporting and supervision requirements.
The regulator has also gained authority to order the removal of illegal gambling content. However, Soare said limited staffing and difficulties recruiting IT specialists have increased ONJN’s reliance on digital systems and infrastructure supplied through Romania’s Government private cloud.
The technology programme follows separate investigations into discrepancies between gambling taxes declared and paid by operators. In February, ONJN reported potential losses of tens of millions of lei and said one land-based operator had an estimated payment difference of RON18m ($4.1m), while an online operator had a difference of around RON5m.
ONJN also identified transaction patterns that it said created suspicions over the calculation of GGR. These included clusters of similarly valued winnings and the alleged deduction of player bonuses from the taxable revenue base. The findings prompted detailed inspections covering the five-year tax limitation period.
The enforcement announcement follows the detention of ONJN Deputy Director General Ana-Maria Badea in a bribery investigation concerning alleged payments from gambling representatives. Prosecutors claim the payments were intended to influence licensing and regulatory procedures.
ONJN reported a 98% removal rate during 2025 for illegal gambling content identified across Meta, Google and TikTok platforms
