The Romanian National Officer for Gambling, or ONJN, as the watchdog that is known for its local acronym, has added 30 websites to its blocking list, ordering the country’s ISPs to comply with the measure and restrict the operators’ access to their users. A compliance grace period now applies.
ONJN Issues Blocking Orders Against 30 Websites
Such blocking requests are issued habitually by gambling watchdogs, and while their efficiency, due to domain jumping, has been questioned, they have been a trusted tool in the regulatory arsenal.
The ONJN used the fact that none of the 30 websites had a license issued by the regulator to carry out activities in the market. At the same time, the country has been asked to take additional steps in strengthening measures for improving the national self-exclusion program.
Among the websites blacklisted by the watchdog in this manner were wazbee.casino, jackpot.com, as well as nv5.casino, nv93.casino, and other brands branded in a similar way.
Just the Tip of the Iceberg of Required Regulatory Action
These operators may have chosen these names to make it easier to rebrand and relaunch following a blocking order, further demonstrating the worries over the measures’ effectiveness.
Operators still have 15 days to comply and stop accepting traffic from Romania to their domains, after which point ISPs will step in and block access.
The country has also sought to strengthen its regulatory measures by asking Google and Meta to weigh in and ensure that they are not allowing illegal gambling operators to target players locally through unauthorized ads.