The National Gambling Office (ONJN) has launched extensive audits across the gambling industry after uncovering major discrepancies between the amounts operators declared and the amounts they actually paid, as well as suspicions of manipulated tax bases for Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in the online sector, the institution announced on Friday. The ONJN noted that the irregularities point to potential losses of tens of millions of RON for the state budget.

ONJN president Vlad-Cristian Soare explained that the investigation began about a month ago, following 'serious indications' of wrongdoing. Some details became public earlier, after an internal email from January 23, 2026, was leaked to the press. According to Soare, the concerns raised at that time have now been confirmed.

Since taking office in April 2025, Soare said he has intensified oversight and replaced the leadership of both the Control Directorate and the Monitoring Directorate due to deficiencies discovered during earlier checks.

Preliminary verifications revealed large differences between what operators declared and what they actually paid, affecting both online and land-based gambling companies.

For instance, one slot-machine operator showed a discrepancy of around 18 million RON, and an online gambling operator showed a gap of about 5 million RON, Vlad-Cristian Soare said.

Most discrepancies relate to the year 2024 and were identified by comparing ONJN declarations with fiscal filings submitted to ANAF.

Soare has ordered full-scale audits covering the last five years - the entire fiscal prescription period - for all operators where inconsistencies were found. If the discrepancies are confirmed, ONJN will initiate recovery procedures and notify criminal investigation bodies.

For online operators, ONJN gained access to mirror servers and analyzed winnings above 15,000 euros. Investigators found anomalies in the distribution of large prizes: many high-value winnings concentrated on the same day or within the same month, often in nearly identical amounts.

According to Soare, this pattern raises strong suspicions that some operators may be artificially lowering their taxable base by awarding prizes to accounts controlled by intermediaries.

Another illegal practice identified involves deducting bonuses from the GGR, which effectively shifts taxation to the Net Gaming Revenue and reduces the tax base. If confirmed, these cases will be referred to the Anti-Money Laundering Office and prosecutors.

ONJN also confirmed that, following Court of Accounts findings regarding the increased tax levels introduced by Government Ordinance 15/2022, online operators owe around 100 million RON in additional payments. These amounts have already been calculated and sent to ANAF.

A separate analysis is underway for land-based operators, especially after tax increases introduced by OUG 82/2023, which may reveal further unpaid amounts for the period October 2023 - 2024.

When Soare took office, ONJN lacked real access to operators' mirror servers, but starting in early 2026, the institution will have full access to all servers and all 12 required reports, and it has begun implementing an AI-based monitoring system.

Regarding public debates on banning gambling, Soare argued that such a measure is 'a false solution', as the prohibition would simply push the activity into the black market, beyond state control. In his opinion, the real solution is a new, stronger regulatory framework that eliminates loopholes and ensures fair competition. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)