The National Gambling Office of Romania (ONJN) has added the Polymarket platform to its list of banned sites for offering gambling services without the appropriate license.
This is reported by Finway
Counterparty Betting and the Regulator’s Legal Position
The regulator believes that Polymarket’s activities fall under the definition of counterparty betting, as users place bets on the outcomes of future events. This requires obtaining an official license in accordance with Romanian legislation.
ONJN President Vlad-Christian Soare specifically emphasized that the decision regarding Polymarket is not related to the use of blockchain technology, but is based solely on the existing laws of the country. He noted that any bets on the outcomes of events, whether made in national currency or cryptocurrency, must be regulated as gambling.
“If you are betting money on the outcome of a future event—whether in lei or cryptocurrency—it is gambling, and it must be licensed,” he stated.
Furthermore, Soare stressed that ONJN will not allow the use of blockchain as a means to circumvent legislative requirements related to the gambling business.
Polymarket Under Close Scrutiny Due to Elections
The regulator expressed particular concern over the significant volume of bets on the outcomes of local elections in Romania. The betting market for the Bucharest mayoral election alone attracted over 16 million dollars. According to ONJN, similar markets on the Polymarket platform previously gathered hundreds of millions of dollars.
The agency warns that using the term “event trading” instead of “betting” could create a dangerous precedent for circumventing legal requirements in the gambling and capital markets.
At the time of publication, Polymarket had not commented on the Romanian authorities’ decision.
This case is not Polymarket’s first conflict with regulators. In 2022, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined the company and effectively banned its operations in the country. Subsequently, Polymarket was able to resume its activities in the U.S. market by acquiring the licensed derivatives exchange QCX.
Earlier, Polymarket confirmed the launch of its own token, POLY, and the conduct of an airdrop for users.