Romania’s gambling regulator, the National Office for Gambling (ONJN), has officially blacklisted Polymarket, describing the prediction-market platform as an unlicensed gambling operator. The move follows the regulator’s findings that Polymarket-enabled event trading generated trading volumes exceeding $600 million during the country’s recent presidential and local-government elections.
Under national legislation, the ONJN said Polymarket’s “counter-party betting” model – where users wager directly against one another on future outcomes – qualifies as gambling regardless of whether the bets are denominated in fiat or crypto. As a result, internet service providers in Romania are now required to block access to the platform.
Regulatory Push and Enforcement Context
The ONJN emphasised that its decision is motivated by legal obligations, not the underlying technology. “Whether you bet in lei or crypto, it must be licensed,” said ONJN President Vlad‑Cristian Soare. The regulator highlighted several breaches, including a lack of fiscal reporting, inadequate anti-money-laundering controls and the absence of player-protection mechanisms standard requirements under Romania’s gambling framework.
Polymarket has faced similar scrutiny in other jurisdictions. Authorities in Belgium, France, Poland, Singapore and Thailand have also restricted the platform, while the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission previously fined the company for operating unregistered derivative markets. The escalating global regulatory focus signifies growing tension between innovative crypto-asset services and existing gambling and financial laws.
Industry Implications and Market Signals
For the broader sector of crypto-enabled prediction markets, Romania’s action is a critical signal. It underlines that despite decentralised architectures, platforms which facilitate outcome-based wagers may be treated as gambling under national law with or without crypto involvement. Operators in this space must now anticipate regulatory enforcement across multiple markets and plan for access restrictions or structural adjustments.
Investors and users should watch for three key signals: how Polymarket responds in terms of licensing or product redesign; whether other national regulators follow Romania’s lead; and how ancillary markets, such as sports or economic-event trading adjust to tightened oversight. As previously covered, the shift from experimental blockchain services to regulated financial environments is occurring rapidly. Romania’s blacklisting of Polymarket may mark a turning point for how event-trading platforms align with traditional compliance regimes.
