Romania's gambling regulator beats Polymarket in court, platform remains banned

Background to the ban
The court ruling
Romania's regulatory momentum
Polymarket, under European pressure

A Romanian court has rejected Polymarket’s bid to suspend ONJN’s blacklisting decision.
ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare says the ruling confirms the legitimacy of the regulator’s enforcement action.
The outcome carries implications for prediction market platforms operating across Europe without a gambling licence.

Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has won the first court battle in its legal dispute with Polymarket, after a Romanian court rejected the prediction platform’s request to suspend the regulator’s blacklisting decision.

ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare announced the outcome in a public LinkedIn statement, describing it as “an important first victory” and a confirmation of the legitimacy of ONJN’s enforcement action.

Background to the ban

ONJN blacklisted Polymarket in late October 2025, concluding that its operational structure meets the legal criteria of gambling. Users place bets on the outcomes of unpredictable events and the platform earns commissions.

The regulator classified Polymarket as a counterparty betting operator, not an event-trading venue. Romanian authorities cited an “explosive increase in activity” on the platform during the country’s May national elections. Local users bet more than $600 million on the presidential race and a further $15 million on local Bucharest elections.

Soare, president of the ONJN, previously said:

“The decision to include Polymarket on the blacklist is not related to technology, but to the law. Regardless of whether you bet in lei or crypto, if you bet money on a future result, under the conditions of a counterpart bet, we are talking about gambling that must be licensed.”

The court ruling

The court dismissed Polymarket’s application to have the blacklisting suspended pending further proceedings. The ruling keeps the access block firmly in place for Romanian internet service providers.

In his LinkedIn statement, Soare stressed that the stakes extended far beyond a single platform. Had the suspension been granted, licensed operators could have used similar reasoning to reclassify regulated betting products as “prediction markets.” That would have allowed them to circumvent tax obligations, know-your-customer requirements, self-exclusion rules and anti-money laundering reporting.

From there, Soare warned, such mechanisms could migrate into the crypto space, opening the door to decentralised casinos beyond any effective regulatory control.

“The decision today is more than a solution in a specific dispute,” Soare said. “It is a signal at European level that the law cannot be bypassed through the reclassification of activities that, in substance, fall within the sphere of gambling.”

Soare publicly acknowledged the legal team at PBC Attorneys-at-Law (Pop, Briciu, Crai şi Asociaţii), and in particular Professor Traian Briciu, president of the Romanian National Union of Bar Associations, for representing the Romanian state in the proceedings.

Romania’s regulatory momentum

The ruling arrives at a moment of sweeping change in Romania’s gambling sector.

Romania’s government recently issued an emergency decree giving municipalities the power to restrict or ban gambling venues. At least nine cities have announced plans to implement full bans, with more than 200 localities potentially eligible to do so.

Soare has also confirmed that an investigation into serious indications of tax discrepancies among operators has been underway. The inquiry follows a damning audit by Romania’s Court of Accounts, which found that the ONJN had failed to identify tax liabilities of between RON 3.3bn and RON 4.3bn.

For 2026, ONJN has allocated €5m in funding to local authorities and civil society groups for prevention, education and intervention programmes. The regulator has also committed to rolling out a nationwide self-exclusion scheme and a geolocation-based QR system, allowing anyone to verify whether gaming machines are licensed.

Polymarket, under European pressure

Polymarket is also facing further European enforcement actions.

Belgium‘s Kansspelcommissie blacklisted the platform in January 2025 after repeated violations of the national Gambling Act. Poland’s Ministry of Finance added the site to its Register of Illegal Gambling Domains. According to Soare’s statement, Polymarket is now prohibited across 11 European jurisdictions.

The platform secured up to a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange in October 2025 and has been expanding in the United States market following its settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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