Romania opens €5m problem gambling fund
Table of contents
- Romania’s ONJN launches its first public funding programme for gambling harm prevention, worth €5m.
- Grants are structured across three pillars: prevention and education, specialist treatment centres, and research.
- Applications open on 11 May, with funded projects due to begin on 3 August and run through December 2026.
Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has opened applications for a €5m grant programme targeting problem gambling prevention, treatment and research, the regulator’s first public funding initiative of its kind.
The programme, titled “Conștient și Liber” (Conscious and Free), was published in the Official Gazette in December 2025 and draws directly from ONJN’s 2026 budget for the promotion of socially responsible gambling. Funding will take the form of non-reimbursable grants for non-profit activities.
Three funding pillars
The bulk of the funding, €3.6m, is allocated to prevention and education, protection of minors, treatment and counselling, research, digitalisation, and the promotion of responsible gambling.
A further €1.2m is earmarked exclusively for the creation or expansion of specialised treatment centres, available only to public authorities. The remaining €200,000 will fund studies and impact assessments to inform future public policy and intervention measures.
Vlad-Cristian Soare, President of ONJN, said:
“I promised that these projects would materialize. Despite all the obstacles in the past, the projects will exist and, most importantly, they will help vulnerable people.
“We are thus ensuring the first funding in the history of ONJN for this type of programs and, at the same time, the necessary regulatory framework has been created for funding in the coming years.
“I would like to remind you that, in order for these fundings to become possible, a collective effort was needed by ONJN, the Ministry of Finance and UEFISCDI, an effort that involved: amending the law; reforming the internal responsible gaming service existing at the level of ONJN; building the legal mechanism and adopting two orders of the President of ONJN that established the methodology and the applicant’s guide; public consultations; creating a platform for submitting projects; approving the State Budget Law; publication of the program and the announcement.”
Key dates confirmed
ONJN has published a full timeline across four stages. Applications must be submitted by 11 May, with eligibility assessments published on 15 May. An appeals window runs from 18 to 20 May, and final compliance results will be issued between 21 and 26 May.
An independent analysis report from a designated ONJN Evaluation Commission will follow on 8 July. Preliminary outcomes can be contested until 13 July, with final results published on 28 July. Contracts will be finalised between 29 and 31 July. Funded projects are set to begin on 3 August and will run for four months through December 2026.
Regulatory context
The “Conscious and Free” programme arrives at a particularly difficult moment for ONJN.
The regulator has faced sustained political scrutiny following an audit by Romania’s Court of Accounts that identified unpaid gambling taxes worth tens of millions of lei. In early 2026, ONJN also submitted an emergency ordinance proposal to the Ministry of Finance to overhaul Romania’s self-exclusion framework, citing long-standing gaps in the existing system.
Lawmakers are simultaneously reviewing sweeping gambling advertising reforms, with around 20 draft legislative proposals before Parliament. The Save Romania Union (USR) has called for ONJN to be disbanded entirely, citing a loss of public trust, a position Soare has consistently rejected.
For operators and investors, the programme signals that ONJN is pressing ahead with its reform agenda regardless of political uncertainty surrounding its future.
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