Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has officially blacklisted Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction and event trading platform, after detecting a major surge in unlicensed betting activity during the country’s recent election period.
The ONJN cited an “explosive increase” in user activity surrounding both the presidential and local elections, estimating that transactions on Polymarket surpassed $600 million during the presidential race and a further $15 million during the Bucharest local elections. While these figures represent cumulative trading volumes rather than individual stakes, regulators said they reveal “a significant level of unregulated betting activity taking place outside state oversight.”
According to the ONJN, Polymarket meets the legal definition of a counterparty betting operator, despite describing itself as an “event-trading” or “prediction” platform. The regulator noted that the platform allows users to wager on future outcomes across multiple markets while charging a commission on transactions — activities that require a Romanian gambling license.
The ONJN emphasized that unlicensed operations undermine player protection, anti-money laundering (AML) safeguards, and the country’s fiscal controls, while also breaching Romania’s legal monopoly framework for gambling.
“It would be a reckless precedent to allow counterparty betting to be reclassified as trading,” the Office said, warning that Polymarket’s growing popularity as a “smart betting alternative” poses significant regulatory risks.
The regulator further reminded users that participation in, or promotion of, unlicensed gambling constitutes a misdemeanor under Government Emergency Ordinance 77/2009, carrying potential fines for both players and promoters.
Event Trading Faces Wider EU Crackdown
Romania is now the fourth European jurisdiction to take enforcement action against Polymarket, joining Belgium, France, and Poland in restricting or blocking access to the platform.
France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) was the first to act in 2024, investigating Polymarket after a €30 million prediction bet was allegedly placed by a French user on the U.S. presidential election, leading to a geo-block on French accounts.
Poland’s Ministry of Finance followed suit, adding polymarket.com to its Register of Illegal Gambling Domains and enforcing ISP and payment restrictions. In Belgium, the Kansspelcommissie (KSC) blacklisted the platform in January 2025 after repeated violations of the national Gambling Act.
This coordinated enforcement effort reflects a unified EU regulatory stance: prediction markets are gambling when users stake monetary value on uncertain outcomes — regardless of whether blockchain or crypto tokens are used for settlement.
Polymarket’s Regulatory Struggles Continue
Polymarket remains unlicensed across the EU and EEA, despite its rapid global expansion. In the United States, the platform faced sanctions from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and was ordered to restrict access to American users.
CEO Shayne Coplan has since stated that Polymarket aims to expand “within regulated frameworks” following its $112 million acquisition of QCEX, a CFTC-licensed exchange platform. However, in Europe, the platform continues to operate without authorization and remains under growing scrutiny.
With bans now imposed by four national regulators, the EU’s position is increasingly clear — “event trading” is gambling, and it must be licensed accordingly.
Source: SBC News