Romania’s National Gambling Office (ONJN) remains in turbulent waters, with bribery investigations involving former and current officials. Several officials have faced corruption allegations, with investigations spanning different levels of the organisation and raising concerns about the conduct of those formerly responsible for regulating the market.
Against this backdrop, the regulator appears to be seeking a fresh start, marked by a recent change in leadership and the launch of a review of the country’s gambling legislation.
The latest plea deal
Radu Andrei Blaga, an inspector at ONJN, has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors after being charged with six counts of bribery.
The case concerns alleged payments from gambling companies in exchange for inspectors not imposing sanctions following regulatory inspections.
Blaga is hoping to secure a more lenient sentence. The agreement has been registered with the Bucharest Tribunal, with the first hearing scheduled for 19 November 2026.
Between 23 September 2025 and 26 May 2026, Blaga and his colleague, fellow ONJN inspector Radu Constantin Brătan, allegedly received RON 25,000 ($5,257) from several companies in exchange for not imposing sanctions over irregularities identified during inspections.
These cases of bribery and corruption are not isolated at the troubled Romanian operator. On 22 October, three unnamed defendants also signed plea agreements relating to influence peddling and complicity.
Wider corruption allegations implicated former leadership
The bribery allegations also extend to former leadership figures at the regulator, specifically Odeta Nestor, former ONJN President. At the time of the investigations, Vlad Soare served as a President.
Over the summer, local media named Nestor as a suspect in an ongoing bribery investigation. She reportedly received bribes to influence regulatory decisions and avoid compliance checks on behalf of a gambling operator.
Nestor was detained in June as part of a National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) investigation and was later moved to house arrest.
Meanwhile, Ana-Maria Badea, former Deputy Director General of ONJN, also appears to be implicated in bribery schemes.
Investigations suggested that between 23 December 2025 and 21 May 2026, Badea received compensation, either directly or through her husband, from gambling operator officials.
In July, prosecutors claimed the payments were made in exchange for Badea using her official position to expedite and influence administrative procedures under her authority.
Regulators leadership change
Weeks later, in August, ONJN underwent a leadership change, with Valentin Tomescu replacing Soare as President. Soare is, to Global Gaming Insider's knowledge, not implicated in any bribery or corruption charges.
He was appointed to strengthen the regulator during a challenging period but was later removed from the presidency, “with no clear reason,” as he stated on social media.
ONJN seeking a fresh start?
ONJN recently launched a review of the country’s gambling legislation, aiming to address outdated rules, regulatory overlaps and inconsistencies across the existing framework.
The regulator has amended the composition of its legislative working group, which will be responsible for developing proposals to create a more coherent, predictable and modern regulatory system.
The initiative is intended to improve oversight and enforcement while providing gambling operators with clearer and more consistent rules.
Romanian parliamentarians recently proposed creating a specific criminal offence for match-fixing, carrying a prison sentence of between two and eight years
