Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has placed Polymarket on its official blacklist of operators carrying out unlicenced gambling activities in the country.

The move follows a sharp increase in platform activity during Romania’s recent election period, which drew heightened public attention to online prediction markets.

Data published on Polymarket’s own website shows that during the presidential elections, the platform handled transactions exceeding $600M, while wagers related to the Bucharest local elections topped $15M.

In a statement, the ONJN said these figures highlight “a significant volume of unregulated gambling activity conducted beyond any fiscal, technical, or integrity oversight.”

The regulator added that such operations sidestep the obligations required of licensed gambling providers, including player protection, anti-money-laundering reporting, and the payment of taxes and state contributions.

Although Polymarket, which recently received a massive investment from NYSE owner promotes itself as a “prediction market” or “event trading” venue, the ONJN maintains that, both legally and operationally, it satisfies all the conditions of a betting platform.

The authority classifies Polymarket as a counterparty betting system because:

• Participants stake money in pursuit of profit
• The outcome hinges on future, uncertain events
• Bets are made against other users rather than the platform itself
• Polymarket simply intermediates the wagers and earns a commission without offering odds
• Its own promotional material invites users to “place a bet,” reinforcing the general perception that it is a crypto-based betting site

 

Romania to maintain gambling monopoly

According to the ONJN, the distinction is merely technological, since it’s based on blockchain infrastructure and tokenization, rather than legal interpretations of the law.

In essence, the platform hosts wagers between users without authorisation or supervision and does not function as an investment service.

The office reiterated that gambling in Romania operates under a state monopoly and may only be run by licensed and authorised entities.

Treating a counterparty betting mechanism as “trading,” it warned, would set a dangerous precedent, enabling companies to rebrand gambling products as financial trading and thus avoid strict gambling and capital-markets regulations.

The ONJN further cautioned that, while some activists campaign to restrict gambling, Polymarket has gained social acceptance as a “smart” alternative, despite being an unlicensed and illegal platform.

The regulator also pointed out that Polymarket was banned in the US after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) determined it had been running unauthorised derivatives trading.

The company subsequently blocked US users and paid fines, though it has since pursued a legal route for re-entry into the market.

Authorities in several other countries, including Belgium, Colombia, France, Poland, Singapore, and Thailand, have likewise taken action to restrict or block access to the platform.

 

 

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