Allowing a self-excluded player to gamble is one of the most expensive mistakes a Romanian operator can make. Under art. 15^1 of OUG 77/2009, operators must refuse access to anyone listed in ONJN’s self-exclusion database, and a breach is fined RON 50,000–100,000 per contravention. In 2025 ONJN began applying the maximum, and ONJN Order 79/2025 removed any role for operators in withdrawing an exclusion.
Key takeaways for operators
- ONJN fined a venue the maximum of RON 100,000 in 2025 for letting a self-excluded player gamble.
- Only ONJN can process a withdrawal of self-exclusion. Forms collected by operators have no legal effect.
- Operators may not collect, forward or encourage withdrawal requests.
- Exclusion requests received by an operator must reach ONJN within two working days, with the player’s ID attached.
- Reform to merge online and land-based exclusion into one register was still pending in October 2026.
ONJN moves from paperwork to enforcement
For years, self-exclusion in Romania was treated by some operators as a form to file rather than a control to run. That changed in 2025. ONJN now distributes the self-exclusion database to licensed operators daily and inspects whether venues actually check it.
The case that set the tone came from Pitești. An ONJN inspection found that a venue had let a self-excluded player gamble and had handed him a withdrawal-of-consent form on the premises. ONJN imposed the maximum fine. The second fact was the aggravating one: the operator was not just negligent at the door, it was actively helping an excluded person return.
ONJN’s then president, Vlad-Cristian Soare, said the office would “apply firm sanctions and continue inspections” and that the rules were not open to negotiation.
The legal backbone: OUG 77/2009 and Order 79/2025
The duty to refuse access
OUG 77/2009 obliges operators to prevent access by self-excluded persons and other persons listed in the ONJN database. There is no grace period once an exclusion is in force, and the obligation sits with the operator, not the player. Breach is a contravention fined RON 50,000 to 100,000.
When an exclusion takes effect
A player files a written request with a copy of their ID, either at ONJN or through a licensed operator. An operator that receives a request must send it to ONJN within two working days. The exclusion takes effect at 00:00 on the calendar day after ONJN registers it, and applies to every licensed organizer the database binds.
Withdrawal belongs to ONJN alone
ONJN Order 79/2025, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 557 on 17 June 2025, introduced standardized forms for exclusion and for withdrawal (radiere) and set the procedure for the national database. Its central rule for operators is that withdrawal is no longer handled at venues. A withdrawal form signed at a casino or slot hall is legally void. The reason is plain: a person at a gaming table, under pressure from staff or a promotion, is the least protected person to be reconsidering their own exclusion.
The online gap
The ONJN register binds land-based venues. Online self-exclusion is governed by HG 111/2016 and works per platform: a player who excludes on one licensed site is locked out across that platform and all its brands, but not automatically at other operators. ONJN has stressed that an exclusion triggered on any front-end must apply across the whole platform and that wallets may not be used to bypass it. The lack of one national online-and-offline register is the gap the reforms below are meant to close.
Exposure beyond the fine
The contravention fine is only the first cost. A finding that a venue admitted a self-excluded player, or helped one withdraw, goes on the operator’s compliance record with ONJN. That record matters when the annual operating authorization is renewed and when the license comes up for renewal, and repeated breaches support stronger measures against the operator. It can also surface in civil disputes: players who kept gambling after excluding themselves have taken operators to court over their losses, and a documented inspection finding strengthens such a claim.
There is a reputational cost too. ONJN has publicized its self-exclusion inspections, and a named sanction is the kind of finding banks, payment partners and B2B suppliers notice in their own due diligence.
The reform pipeline
The Senate bill (L94/2025)
In 2025 the Senate passed a bill, co-initiated by USR deputies, that would create a single national register for retail and online gambling with one procedure and a cooling-off period during which an excluded person cannot withdraw consent. The Chamber of Deputies, the decisional chamber, had not adopted it at our last check.
The March 2026 draft emergency ordinance
On 2 March 2026 the Ministry of Finance put a draft emergency ordinance on public consultation that went further:
- one register binding all licensed operators, online and land-based;
- exclusion periods of 6 months, 12 months or indefinite, at the player’s choice;
- an 18-month buffer before an indefinite exclusion can be lifted;
- applications in person, by email with a qualified electronic signature, or by notarized or lawyer-certified declaration;
- refund within 48 hours of deposits that an online operator accepted from an excluded player;
- fines of RON 50,000–100,000, with suspension of the operating right for repeat breaches;
- police participation in inspections alongside ONJN.
The explanatory note put the register at more than 52,000 people. The draft was listed for government meetings in March 2026 and then pulled; the government said it was postponed for further analysis, not withdrawn. We had not seen it published in Monitorul Oficial by October 2026.
What applies now (2026)
The binding rules today are art. 15^1 OUG 77/2009, HG 111/2016 for online accounts, and ONJN Order 79/2025. In practice:
- Land-based: check every entrant against the current ONJN database, every day. A miss is RON 50,000–100,000.
- Online: exclusion and limits must apply across the whole platform and every brand on it, and must not be bypassable through wallets.
- Withdrawal: refer the player to ONJN. Never hold, print or forward a withdrawal form.
- Forwarding: send any exclusion request you receive to ONJN within two working days, with the ID copy.
- Enforcement climate: ONJN’s leadership changed in August 2026, when Soare was replaced by Valentin-Ioan Tomescu, but nothing suggests a softer line on player protection. See ONJN’s 2026 compliance agenda.
Expert view: enforcement is the new baseline
Romania’s regulator is moving from licensing and reporting toward conduct supervision of the kind associated with the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Since May 2025 ONJN has also been the sole AML supervisor for the sector, and it is using the same inspection logic for player protection.
Operators should treat self-exclusion with the same seriousness as AML:
- Automate the database check at entry and at account level, and log every check.
- Train floor staff on what they may not do: accept, print or “help with” withdrawal.
- Write the two-working-day forwarding procedure into the internal rules.
- Test online exclusion across all brands and payment routes on the platform.
- Prepare now for a single national register, which is likely to come in some form.
The same discipline applies to the ban on minors, and both belong in a compliance calendar that is reviewed every quarter.
Responsible-gambling controls are part of the license file for a Class 1 license, and a record of breaches weighs on renewals and authorizations. Our compliance team reviews self-exclusion and RG procedures for Romanian licensees, and our Romania overview sets out the full licensing framework.