Valentin-Ioan Tomescu named as new president of Romanian gambling regulator

Vlad-Cristian Soare has been removed from the post just over a year into his reforms of the gambling regulator.

Romania.- There’s been a new and unexpected twist in the ongoing reforms at the Romanian gambling regulator ONJN. Vlad-Cristian Soare has been removed from his position as president of the regulator just over a year after taking charge. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has announced the appointment of Valentin-Ioan Tomescu as his replacement.

As announced in the national gazette, Bolojan dismissed Soare through Decision No. 283/2026. Tomescu, for his part, is not a new name at the regulator. He headed the South-East Territorial Service, based in Constanta, before being transferred to Bucharest and taking on responsibilities in the General Directorate of Supervision and Control, the ONJN department responsible for inspecting operators, applying sanctions and monitoring compliance with licensing and authorisation requirements.

Soare’s reforms of the Romanian gambling regulator

Soare took up the role in May last year amid increased scrutiny of the regulator following a damning audit that revealed that the ONJN had failed to collect €1bn in taxes from operators. Measures he introduced in a bid to increase transparency and accountability have been acknowledged by the Court of Auditors.

He also introduced several reforms aimed at stabilising the gambling sector and strengthening responsible gambling measures. This included the modernisation of Romania’s gambling self-exclusion system under a fully digital scheme covering all online operators were included. In addition, the ONJN secured around €5m in grants to support social projects tackling problem gambling under the ‘Conscious and Free’ programme, and Romania joined other European countries in banning prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

Some 1,300 illegal gambling websites were blocked during Soare’s tenure while market consolidation reduced the number of licensed operators from 200 to fewer than 100.

Reason for Soare’s removal unclear

In a LinkedIn post, Soare stated that he had been given no explanation for his removal. “It was the greatest honor to represent the Romanian state as a dignitary and I thank God that I was able to live this experience. I love Romania and, even if I am disappointed because my change was not made based on the principle of meritocracy, I will not stop believing in our ability to do good,” he wrote.

He added: “If anyone still wonders whose side I was on: also during my mandate, the institution began to clean itself from the inside. We changed the leadership of the directorates, we ordered internal investigations and notified the criminal investigation bodies whenever we had clues. This year’s Anti-Corruption Directorate investigation at the ONJN is a consequence of serious violations that are not compatible with the direction I wanted. I’m a technocrat. The results show what we defended: the Romanian state, market balance and the people that gambling hurts.”

Those corruption investigations have involved senior ONJN figures. Ana-Maria Badea, the former Deputy Director General, is under investigation for alleged bribery offences. Badea had worked under ONJN’s previous president Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe, who resigned following the discovery of that tax shortfall. Meanwhile, Odeta Kristanela Nestor, who served as ONJN President between 2013 and 2017, was detained in June over suspected corrupt practices.