Romania will release a total of €5m (£4.3m) in grants to fight problem gambling through funding from the regulator, the ONJN.

The funding is being released under the National Public Interest Programme ‘Conscious and Free’ under a commitment made by the ONJN and published in the Official Gazette in December 2025.

Grants will come in the form of non-reimbursable financing for non-profit activities, taken directly from ONJN’s 2026 budget intended for the promotion of socially responsible gambling.

Funding will be structured into three pillars. The lion’s share of it – €3.6m – will be released for prevention and education, protection of minors, treatment and counselling, research, digitalisation, and promotion of responsible gambling.

A total of €1.2m will be allocated to the creation or expansion of specialised treatment centres, which can only be claimed by public authorities.

Lastly, the remainder of €200,000 will subsidise studies and impact assessments to help inform future public policies and intervention measures.

All key dates have been released in full, segmented into four stages. Applications need to be submitted by 11 May, while eligibility assessments will be published on 15 May. Applicants will be able to appeal the results between 18-20 May, with the final resolutions and compliance results coming out between 21-26 May.

On 8 July, the ONJN will publish the results of an independent analysis and the report of a specially designated ONJN Evaluation Commission.

Preliminary outcomes can be then contested until 13 July, with the publication of the final results scheduled for 28 July.

The final stage includes finalising the funding contracts between 29-31 July, with 3 August being the target date for the projects’ commencement. Each project will run for four months until December 2026.

Vlad-Cristian Soare, President of ONJN, commented: “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. 

“I would like to remind you that, in order for these fundings to become possible, a collective effort was needed by ONJN, the Ministry of Finance and UEFISCDI, an effort that involved: amending the law; reforming the internal responsible gaming service existing at the level of ONJN; building the legal mechanism and adopting two orders of the President of ONJN that established the methodology and the applicant’s guide; public consultations; creating a platform for submitting projects; approving the State Budget Law; publication of the program and the announcement.”