In a historic expansion of public funding dedicated to social welfare within the gaming sector, Romania’s gambling regulator, ONJN, has announced it will award €5 million in non-reimbursable grants for responsible gambling.
These funds are earmarked for specialized projects aimed at the prevention and treatment of problem gambling under the national “Conscious and Free” program. The selected initiatives are scheduled to commence in August and will operate through December 2026.
A Multi-Pillar Funding Strategy
The ONJN is drawing this significant investment directly from its 2026 budget, specifically utilizing funds designated for the promotion of socially responsible gambling. To ensure a comprehensive impact, the regulator has structured the €5m budget into three distinct funding pillars:
- Prevention and Education (€3.6m): Supporting programs focused on minor protection, treatment services, research, and digitalization of responsible gambling tools.
- Treatment Infrastructure (€1.2m): Reserved exclusively for public authorities to create or expand specialized treatment centers across the country.
- Policy Research (€200,000): Subsidizing impact assessments and studies intended to inform future public intervention measures.
The Road to Implementation
The application window for non-profit activities and public entities is tight, with a submission deadline of May 11. Following a series of eligibility assessments and appeal periods throughout May and June, the final results will be published on July 28. This rigorous timeline is designed to ensure that contracts are finalized by the end of July, allowing for a target start date of August 3, 2026.
Vlad-Cristian Soare, President of ONJN, highlighted the significance of the move:
“I promised that these projects would materialize. Despite all the obstacles in the past, the projects will exist and, most importantly, they will help vulnerable people. We are thus ensuring the first funding in the history of ONJN for this type of programs and, at the same time, the necessary regulatory framework has been created for funding in the coming years.”
Soare noted that this milestone required a massive collective effort involving the Ministry of Finance of Romania and UEFISCDI to reform internal responsible gaming services and build the legal platform necessary for project submission.
