Valentin-Ioan Tomescu appointed new president of Romania’s gambling regulator after Vlad-Cristian Soare’s removal

Romania’s ONJN has changed leadership again, with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan appointing Valentin-Ioan Tomescu after removing Vlad-Cristian Soare just over a year into his reform push. For high-risk operators, the message is simple: the regulator’s clean-up drive is continuing, but the person running it has changed.

1. Soare was removed from the presidency of ONJN after taking office in May last year, following a period of increased scrutiny triggered by an audit that found the regulator had failed to collect €1bn in taxes from operators.
2. During his tenure, Soare introduced measures aimed at improving transparency and accountability, and those measures were acknowledged by the Court of Auditors. He also pushed reforms to stabilise the gambling sector and strengthen responsible gambling controls.
3. Those reforms included the modernisation of Romania’s gambling self-exclusion system under a fully digital scheme covering all online operators, plus around €5m in grants for social projects addressing problem gambling under the Conscious and Free programme.
4. Romania also joined other European countries in banning prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi. At the same time, ONJN said it blocked some 1,300 illegal gambling websites, while market consolidation cut the number of licensed operators from 200 to fewer than 100.
5. Soare said on LinkedIn that he was not given any explanation for his removal. He also said the institution had begun “to clean itself from the inside,” mentioning internal investigations and referrals to criminal investigation bodies. The Anti-Corruption Directorate investigation at ONJN involves senior figures, including former Deputy Director General Ana-Maria Badea, who is under investigation for alleged bribery offences, and Odeta Kristanela Nestor, ONJN president between 2013 and 2017, who was detained in June over suspected corrupt practices.

Prime Minister Bolojan dismissed Soare through Decision No. 283/2026. For operators and PSPs, the practical point is that Romania’s gambling regulator remains in active restructuring mode, with enforcement, tax collection and internal anti-corruption work all still on the table.