Romania’s National Gambling Office ONJN has notified the giants META and GOOGLE to eliminate illegal gambling advertising in Romania.

The National Office for Gambling has sent a request to Meta and Google, requesting the immediate removal of sponsored advertisements that promote unauthorized gambling in Romania.

The ONJN found that platforms managed by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.) and in the Google search engine results, paid advertisements are promoted were running ads forunlicensed operators, who are on the ONJN Black List. These advertisements directly target the Romanian public and promote sites that violate the legislation in force.

The promotion of unauthorized gambling is sanctioned by law, with fines between 50,000 and 100,000 lei and the confiscation of the amounts derived from illegal activities.

The updated list of licensed operators and prohibited sites is available on the ONJN website.

We remind operators that operating “under the counter” constitutes a crime and that, in the same situation of violating the criminal law, those who favor this phenomenon by providing payment services, content, promotion, and related IT services are also in the same situation of violating the criminal law.”

ONJN continues its mission to protect players, combat the black market, and ensure a legal and safe framework in the field of gambling.