Gambling Legislation in Romania Under Full Review

Romania's gambling regulator ONJN has begun work to review and revise the national gambling legislation. The regulator said many regulations it describes as "outdated" have led to fragmentation and inconsistencies in the sector. However, it did not detail which changes will be made.

The process is being led directly by the regulator's president, Valentin-Ioan Tomescu. Tomescu was appointed on 21 August 2026. According to ONJN's official statement, the president changed the composition of the working group responsible for analyzing and harmonizing the legislation. The goal is to produce a law better suited to the current state of the local sector and to ONJN's supervisory and control responsibilities. No deadline has yet been set for the work.

Tomescu replaced the previous president, Vlad-Cristian Soare, in August. Soare was appointed in April 2025 and had served for about a year. Soare said the change was made without any explanation being given to him.

The regulator has been associated with scandals for over a year. In July, it was reported that deputy director general Ana-Maria Badea had become the focus of a corruption investigation into alleged bribes paid in exchange for acting in favor of some operators. The same month, Odea Nestor, who headed ONJN from 2013 to 2017, was detained over an alleged bribe of 100,000 euros between an ONJN official and a Bulgarian gambling operator.

Soare said he has distanced himself from these cases. "The integrity of the institution is my priority. ONJN must operate with a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption," Soare said. Soare's appointment had followed an audit report revealing that about 1 billion euros had been lost from gambling taxes between 2019 and 2023. That development had led to the resignation of Soare's predecessor.