Key Highlights
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- ONJN, Romania’s gaming authority, has approved €5 million in grant funding dedicated to combating gambling addiction through the ‘Conscious and Free’ initiative
- Approximately €3.6 million will support prevention campaigns, counseling services, educational programs, and responsible gaming advocacy
- An additional €1.2 million is designated specifically for constructing or upgrading specialized addiction treatment centers
- Applications are due by May 11, with selected programs set to begin August 3 and conclude by December 2026
- This initiative represents ONJN’s inaugural public investment in problem gambling intervention programs
Romania’s national gaming watchdog, ONJN, has unveiled a substantial €5 million grant initiative designed to tackle the growing challenge of gambling addiction across the country.
The financial commitment is part of the ‘Conscious and Free’ national initiative, which received official authorization from ONJN in December 2025. Details of the program were made public via an announcement in Romania’s Official Gazette.
Non-profit entities will receive these grants as non-reimbursable funds. ONJN is allocating the resources from its operational budget for 2026.
The regulatory body has structured the funding across three distinct categories. The primary allocation of €3.6 million will support diverse initiatives encompassing awareness campaigns, educational outreach, counseling and therapeutic services, academic research, digital innovation, youth protection measures, and responsible gaming advocacy.
An additional €1.2 million has been set aside for the development or enhancement of dedicated treatment facilities for individuals struggling with gambling disorders. This funding category is exclusively available to public sector organizations.
Submission Deadlines and Evaluation Framework
The final €200,000 segment will finance research initiatives and impact assessments aimed at informing future policy decisions and intervention approaches.
Interested organizations must submit proposals no later than May 11. ONJN plans to release eligibility determinations on May 15, allowing applicants a brief three-day period from May 18 through May 20 to contest decisions.
Final compliance determinations and dispute resolutions are scheduled between May 21 and May 26. A designated Evaluation Commission will subsequently assess submissions and announce findings on July 8.
Applicants may challenge preliminary determinations until July 13. Final decisions will be released on July 28, with contractual agreements scheduled for execution between July 29 and July 31.
ONJN has designated August 3 as the launch date for approved programs. All grant-funded projects must conclude by December 2026, providing approximately a four-month implementation period.
Regulatory Chief Hails Unprecedented Initiative
Vlad-Cristian Soare, ONJN’s President, characterized the program as a watershed moment for the regulatory agency. He confirmed this marks the organization’s first-ever financial investment in initiatives of this nature.
Soare recognized the substantial coordination required to actualize the grant program. He credited partnerships among ONJN, the Ministry of Finance, and UEFISCDI as instrumental in launching the initiative.
According to Soare, implementation necessitated legislative modifications, restructuring of ONJN’s responsible gaming division, and establishing the regulatory infrastructure to administer the grants. Two presidential directives were also enacted to formalize the methodology and applicant criteria.
He stressed that the institutional framework is now established to enable ongoing funding in subsequent years.
As Romania’s gambling sector has expanded in recent years, concerns about addiction have intensified. The ‘Conscious and Free’ program marks the nation’s most substantial public funding commitment to addressing this issue to date.
Qualified non-profit organizations have until May 11, 2026, to submit their applications.
