Romanian court confirms ONJN’s decision to blacklist Polymarket

(AsiaGameHub) –   A Romanian court has issued a ruling upholding the Romanian Gambling Office’s decision to keep Polymarket on its national blacklist. The court rejected Polymarket’s request to suspend an earlier ONJN ruling, which found the platform was operating without a valid license.

ONJN President Vlad Cristian Soare celebrated the result in a LinkedIn post, stating:

Today we secured our first major win in the Polymarket case. There’s been a lot of speculation around this decision. In truth, the issue was never just about Polymarket—and still isn’t. The real goal is to protect the legal framework governing gambling and close a dangerous loophole: rebranding betting under the seemingly innocent label of ‘prediction platform’.

According to the ONJN, the court’s ruling reinforces the Gambling Office’s authority and strengthens its legitimacy to take action against Polymarket. Romania was one of the first jurisdictions to blacklist the platform in October 2025.

Since Romania blacklisted Polymarket, the platform has also been banned by several other European jurisdictions, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Germany, and Italy.

Polymarket first faced issues with the ONJN after the office cited an “exploited surge” in activity during Romania’s 2025 election period. Total trading on Pepsin exceeded $600 million during the presidential election and $15 million from Bucharest’s local elections.

The Office stated at the time:

Allowing counterparty betting to be reclassified as trading would set a reckless precedent.

The ONJN determined that Polymarket acts as a counterparty betting provider—even though it presents itself as a prediction market—because it lets customers wager on event outcomes and charges them a commission for doing so. Based on this finding, the ONJN concluded Polymarket is subject to existing gambling laws.

Soare emphasized this stance, adding:

Whether you bet in lei or crypto, if you’re putting money on a future outcome in a counterparty bet scenario, it’s gambling that requires a license. The ONJN will not allow blockchain to become a shield for illegal gambling.