Romania’s gambling authority blacklisted Polymarket in the country on Thursday for operating without a license.
The National Office of Gambling, or the ONJN, qualified bets made on the prediction market as counterparty betting rather than trading.
Polymarket is one of the largest prediction markets. It lets users wager on the outcomes of various real-world events, ranging from sports and politics to what a CEO will say during an earnings call.
In Romania, the gaming business is a state monopoly. Operators must apply and obtain a licence from the National Office for Gambling before beginning to do business.
“The decision to include Polymarket on the blacklist is not related to technology, but to the law,” the National Office for Gambling president, Vlad-Cristian Soare, said in a statement.
“Regardless of whether you bet in lei or crypto, if you bet money on a future result, under the conditions of a counterpart bet, we are talking about gambling that must be licensed. ONJN will not allow the transformation of blockchain into a screen for illegal betting.”
Polymarket crackdown
Romania joins a growing list of jurisdictions that are cracking down on prediction markets.
In late 2024, France ordered the company to geo-block French users from placing bets, and Belgian authorities declared Polymarket illegal in February this year.
Ousted from the US after settling a $1.4 million fine with the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission in 2022, Polymarket has touted a return to the country by the end of this year. The CFTC alleged the company failed to register as a swap execution facility.
In their decision on Thursday, Romanian authorities cited an “explosive increase in activity” on Polymarket during the country’s May national elections.
The ONJN reported that local users bet more than $600 million on the presidential election, and another $15 million on local elections in Bucharest.
“The ONJN decision, together with the updated blacklist, will be communicated to internet service providers so that they can block access to the platform of players resident in Romania within a reasonable period of time,” the gambling agency concluded.
Polymarket didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at [email protected].
