The National Gambling Office of Romania (ONJN) has determined that licensed operators must uphold self-exclusion as a “single account principle.”
The determination was published on 13 March, to close a loophole that allowed self-excluded players to switch platforms and continue to gamble.
According to ONJN, if a customer self-excludes from one account on an operator’s platform, the exclusion must automatically apply to all other accounts held by the customer with that operator – even if the player did not specifically request exclusion from each individual account.
The determination carries consequences for operators that failed to enforce self-exclusion under the single account principle. Customers may now seek compensation for losses incurred on platforms that did not properly apply the self-exclusion measure across all linked accounts.
Romania launched its self-exclusion register in 2020 as part of broader efforts to promote responsible gambling and protect vulnerable audiences. The self-exclusion system was introduced and regulated under the supervision of the ONJN, aligning with European standards for player protection.
The judgement is rooted in existing legislation, specifically GD no. 111/2016, Art. 130, which states that players should only have a single account across all platforms operated by the same gambling licence holder. Despite the requirement being in place since 2016, some operators continued to allow self-excluded players to access other platforms under the same licence.
ONJN has instructed operators to update their responsible gambling policies, terms and conditions, and internal compliance procedures to reflect the new enforcement standards. Non-compliance could lead to penalties, including fines and potential licence revocation.
Legal disputes have seen Romanian operators refund affected customers; however, some had chosen to delay compensation due to inconsistent policies. The ONJN’s clarification removes this defence, putting pressure on operators to compensate players and comply fully with self-exclusion regulations.
The determination comes as the ONJN faces political scrutiny to explain its auditing failures of the Romanian gambling industry, which revealed tax liabilities of between 3.3 billion and 4.3 billion lei (€630m to €900m).
ONJN President Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe refused to be questioned by an IT committee, which he branded as being in opposition to the ONJN. Gheorghe has promised to provide a detailed response explaining the failings and outlining corrective measures.
Criticism of the ONJN is being led by the Romania Union Party (USR), which has proposed to Parliament that the ONJN be suspended, with its oversight transferred to the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Authority.
The latest developments in the Romanian government’s gambling fallout have seen the USR party demand that a cap of 10% of income expenditure be applied to gambling accounts.
Gheorghe maintains that the tax liabilities were significantly below what was reported by the audit of ONJN. He stated that the authority will present evidence that the failures were due to outdated IT systems, which were required to apply year-on-year changes to taxes, licensing, and authorisation fees for Romanian gambling licences.
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