The Church of Romania is taking an active part in shaping the country’s national problem gambling strategy.
Olivia Nicoleta Vișan, Programme Coordinator at the Filantropia Federation of the Romanian Patriarchate, and Archimandrite Casian Filip, Vicar of the Diocese of Maramureș and Sătmar, both took part in a roundtable discussion that launched the “National Strategy for the Prevention and Treatment of Gambling Addiction”.
Led by the Romanian Committee for Culture, Communication, and Media (CCCM), the meeting was also attended by representatives from the National Agency for Drug and Addiction Policies (ANPCDA), as well as the regulator – the National Gambling Office (ONJN).
Besides speaking on behalf of the Church, Archimandrite Filip contributed to the conversation by leveraging his experience as a specialised advisor in the field of addictions and behavioural disorders.
The bottom line of the meeting was to devise a strategy on how to effectively coordinate between ministries, politicians, authorities, the clergy, experts, NGOs, and the gambling sector, when subsidising efforts to combat problem gambling rates in the country.
Cristian Niculescu-Țăgârlaș, Chair of the Senate’s CCCM, said: “I believe the cultural and educational dimension of the Strategy is essential. The Church, culture, media, and education can become powerful tools for prevention and support for young people and vulnerable groups.”
Speaking to the various stakeholders present at the event, President of the ONJN, Vlad Cristian Soare, reminded that the regulator collects around €11m ($12.1m) in tax per year from the gambling sector, and reinstated its commitment – now strengthened by the new strategy – to direct these funds into prevention, self-exclusion, and gambling harm research initiatives.
“For me, these are a priority. I want an active, transparent and responsible ONJN, and for this we need everyone: public authorities, specialists, organisers and civil society. Only together can we transform social responsibility into a reality and provide support to those who have real need,” Soare added.
Archimandrite Filip fully welcomed both the CCCM’s and the ONJN’s extended hands, adding that the Church plays a vital role in community wellbeing, guiding individuals and their families through hardships.
Wider reforms on the way
Gambling in Romania is currently at a crossroads, with the Save Romania Party (USR) pushing for a total restructuring of regulations, one of which being an updated self-exclusion framework.
Matters reached a boiling point earlier this year when an independent audit of the ONJN found that the regulator failed to collect around €900m ($990m) in taxes between 2019 and 2023.
Their audit further unveiled that the self-exclusion system that is meant to be managed centrally by the ONJN was not properly implemented across licensed gambling operators, leading to serious concerns about the actual rate of problem gamblers in the country.
The subsequent fallout saw a change in ONJN leadership, with former President Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe stepping down and Soare taking over his duties.
USR is now pushing for an abolishment of the ONJN as a result, and a transfer of supervision duties to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).
On top of that there are also calls to increase the turnover tax for gambling operators to 20%, which are currently being reviewed by Parliament.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram channel!
