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Romania’s Outspoken Regulator Approaches a Year in the Job

Published

1 month ago

April 7, 2026

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It is now almost a year since crusading regulator Vlad-Cristian Soare took over as the head of Romania’s gambling authority and he shows little sign of slowing down.

After public and institutional trust in the National Office for Gambling (ONJN) collapsed, April 2025 saw Soare inherit an authority in freefall.

Public prosecutors found in early 2025 that over several years the regulator had allowed almost €1bn in fees to go unpaid, depriving the government of huge volumes of income it should have been extracting from the gambling industry.

With its reputation at rock-bottom, Soare arrived at ONJN with the grim knowledge that the agency might not even survive.

Numerous reports suggested that the government saw the regulator as a lost cause and that its functions would soon be folded back into the Ministry of Finance.

While the jury is still out on whether Soare has succeeded in rehabilitating the ONJN, he has at the very least managed to avoid its total destruction in the intervening 12 months.

Making moves

Soare says he is committed to reform and among his flagship policies is establishing Romania’s first industry-wide self-exclusion system.

In a potentially radical move, Soare has also called for a complete overhaul of the country’s gambling law, which he termed “morally outdated”.

“Mr. Soare has had a noticeably more active and visible start than several of his predecessors,” said Cosmina Maria Simion, managing parter at law firm WH Simion & Partners.

“From the outside, he appears to understand both the politics of the sector and the industry mechanics, which matters because one of the historical criticisms of the regulator was that it was either too passive, too politicised or too disconnected from how the market actually works,” she told EE Gaming.

Romania was formerly seen as one of Europe’s prime examples of a successful, modern online gambling market. The nation was among the first to directly authorise affiliates and require suppliers to be licensed.

That positive perception has changed, however, due to the gambling industry’s spiralling political fortunes, efforts by lawmakers to tighten rules and the collapse of trust in the ONJN.

Tough new measures introduced over the past few months include regulations making it illegal for suppliers to sell their content to providers who offer gambling into Romania without a licence.

The new government also hiked tax rates in its first post-election budget last year, raising online levies from 21 percent to 30 percent of gross gambling revenue (GGR) and adding a variable tax on winnings.

Soare’s calls to update the 2009 Gambling Act reflect a genuine feeling that new legisation is needed to deal with an industry that has evolved rapidly in the past two decades,

“We need a coherent, modern and efficient framework,” Soare said in a document laying out his 2026 priorities.

But he has also made it clear that he is motivated in part by the sheer volume of legislative proposals related to gambling that are flooding parliament.

A new act would ideally quieten a noisy political landscape in which consistent regulation is difficult, when lawmakers are constantly threatening to re-write the rulebook.

Zoltan Tuendik, Co-Founder and Head of Business at HIPTHER, which operates EE Gaming, has cautious optimism in Soare’s project.

“The past year has underscored both the fragility and resilience of Romania’s regulatory framework,” he said.

“The actions led by Vlad-Cristian Soare reflect a clear effort to restore credibility and reassert control over a market that had drifted into uncertainty.

“At the same time, these reforms are unfolding in a political climate where gambling has become a convenient target for public positioning, increasing the risk of policy being shaped as much by perception as by long-term strategy.”

Meet them head on

Part of Soare’s strategy to rebuild trust in the ONJN has been to engage in public forums with stakeholders and critics of Romanian gambling policy.

In the past few days, for example, he took to LinkedIn to celebrate an “important” victory over predictions giant Polymarket.

ONJN had previously taken enforcement action against the operator for offering illegal gambling in Romania through its event contract trading platform and Romanian courts rejected an appeal of that ruling.

Allowing Polymarket to continue trading would have opened the floodgates to a torrent of gambling operators seeking to dodge taxes and responsible gambling requirements by reclassifying themselves as prediction platforms, he said.

“The real stakes were to protect the legal framework that regulates gambling and prevent a dangerous loophole,” Soare added.

But the post also reveals his willingness to engage and mollify his critics. An approach that is unusual among top regulators.

Soare responded to one commenter on his Polymarket LinkedIn post who argued that it would be trivial for Romanians to continue accessing Polymarket via a VPN.

In response, regulator said that Polymarket was guilty of a “double standard” by not applying for a licence and that the ONJN was working on technology to restrict the ability of the gambling black market to operate in Romania.

Time will tell

With ONJN facing the axe mere months after he took office, Vlad-Cristian Soare’s decision to be more public and more personal than his predecessors may have been motivated by necessity as much as strategy.

Simion noted that the regulator still faces structural challenges, such as limited administrative capacity and inconsistent bureaucracy, while having to navigate significant political pressure and a gambling law that has become “increasingly fragmented after years of piecemeal amendments”. Despite this, she too is “cautiously positive” about the trajectory of Soare’s leadership.

“Rebuilding the market will depend not only on enforcement, but on restoring predictability and balance,” added Tuendik.

“As legislative changes take shape, the key challenge will be ensuring that player protection, enforcement and market attractiveness evolve together, rather than allowing the industry to be disproportionately constrained for short-term political gain.”

For now, the ONJN president has at least kept his ailing regulator afloat for a full year, keeping alive the hope of more widespread reforms.

The post Romania’s Outspoken Regulator Approaches a Year in the Job appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

1spin4win

1spin4win presents Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win to mark its 5th anniversary

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Wladimir P.

1spin4win-presents-lucky-1spin4win-hold-and-win-to-mark-its-5th-anniversary

On May 14, 2026, 1spin4win reached a significant milestone — five years on the iGaming market. The anniversary motto, The Gold Standard of Classic Slots, reflects the studio’s evolution into a recognized name in the classic slot niche, built on years of industry expertise and commitment to delivering authentic gambling experiences.

Today, its portfolio features more than 200 games combining timeless appeal, advanced mathematics, and strong performance. In 2025, 1spin4win achieved a 52.06% increase in bet count and a 56.62% rise in GGR compared to 2024. This growth has helped the provider earn the trust of over 1,000 global operators, including leading brands such as SOFTSWISS, EveryMatrix, Alea, SoftGaming, Digitain, and BetConstruct.

As part of the milestone celebration, 1spin4win introduces Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win, a special slot highlighting the studio’s landmark titles and renowned characters. Alongside traditional fruit, bells, and sevens, the colorful 3×3 grid features Wild symbols shaped as red bezel-set diamonds. When activated, they illuminate the “5 Years” sign, reinforcing the game’s anniversary theme.

The celebratory atmosphere continues through the slot’s rewarding features. Landing nine identical symbols doubles the win, while three or more Coins trigger the exciting Hold and Win Bonus round. With three starting respins, players get the chance to claim two festive Jackpots — the x100 Minipot Coin and the x1000 Megapot.

To mark the 5-year anniversary, 1spin4win is also launching special promotional campaigns in collaboration with Olymp and Selector. To give players additional opportunities to join the celebration, the partners will distribute exclusive promo codes, which will also be available to the registered users of the provider’s Players Room platform.

Olga Hlukhovskaya, Business Development Director at 1spin4win, commented, “Five years in the industry is an important testament to how far 1spin4win has come. Since 2021, we’ve grown into an acknowledged iGaming brand trusted by top global companies. Looking ahead, we plan to keep expanding across African and Latin American markets, deepen our relationships with regional operators, and further strengthen our presence in Europe. For us, this anniversary is not only about celebrating past achievements, but also about building the next stage of 1spin4win’s journey.

Olga Bogdanova, Art Director at 1spin4win, shared, “Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win is dedicated to the 1spin4win 5th anniversary in the casino industry. The game’s design brings together iconic characters and signature symbols from our previous releases, well-known to both our players and partners. The result is a vibrant product featuring engaging Hold and Win mechanics and the recognizable 1spin4win classic style. We invite everyone to join the celebration of our anniversary, test their luck in the slot, compete for festive jackpots, and revisit their favorite 1spin4win games!”

About 1spin4win

1spin4win is an established game provider founded in May 2021 by ambitious developers with over 15 years of experience in the gambling industry. Since its inception, the company has expanded its portfolio to include over 200 classic online slots, all characterized by quality mathematics, transparent mechanics, and well-balanced gameplay — key factors that drive strong player retention. The studio aims to release an average of four new games each month in 2026 and offers effective promotional tools for casino operators to help them enhance player loyalty.

The post 1spin4win presents Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win to mark its 5th anniversary appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Games

Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Wladimir P.

stake-releases-zoo-casino-game:-a-fast,-multiplayer-stake-original-where-players-bet-on-the-wild-side

A new live-round Stake Original where every player bets on the same outcome – six animals, a 20-tile track, three results per round, and wins up to 1,000x in play.

Stake, the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, has today launched its Zoo casino game, a new multiplayer Stake Original that brings every player into the same live round to bet on six animals across a 20-tile track. Available worldwide on Stake, Zoo is the latest title to join the growing Stake Originals collection.

Zoo takes the shared-round excitement that has made games like Crash a Stake Originals staple and pairs it with simpler, more visual decision-making. Each round, six animals – Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Crocodile, Rhino, and Penguin – appear on a 20-tile circular track, with each animal showing up a different number of times to create clear volatility tiers and payout differences across the board. Players have ten seconds to back one or more animals before the track spins up and locks in three result tiles in the center of the screen.

Zoo launches with a 98% RTP, a top multiplier of 1,000x per round, and full auto bet controls that let players preset their wager amount, number of rounds, and chosen animals. Designed as a simpler, more visual evolution of popular casino games like Roulette and Sic Bo, Zoo strips back the complexity without compromising on depth. The rarer the animal, the bigger the reward – Lion and Cheetah each appear only once on the track, Elephant and Crocodile twice, Rhino four times, and Penguin ten, giving players a clear read on the risk and payout of every play. With three result tiles drawn each round, players win based on how many times their chosen animal lands across all three.

“Zoo is exactly the kind of game we want Stake Originals to be known for – fast, simple to pick up, and genuinely fun to play in an online setting filled with other players. There’s real tension in watching the three tiles land for the whole table at once, and we think players are going to find their favourite animals pretty quickly,” said Stake’s Chief Marketing Officer, Akhil Sarin.

Zoo joins a growing line-up of in-house multiplayer game creations on Stake Casino, with the goal of keeping every Stake Original easy to learn, quick to play, and a little bit different from anything else in the iGaming industry.

About Stake

Stake is the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, attracting over 100 million monthly visits across its global domains – more than any other iGaming platform on earth. Founded in 2017, Stake attracts over 80 million monthly visits and processes more than 100 billion bets per year. Stake is renowned for its innovation in crypto wagering and its growing expansion into regulated local-currency gaming markets, including Italy, Denmark, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The brand boasts an extensive global sponsorship portfolio including Drake, X Games, Everton Football Club, and the UFC.

Contact

Stake.com

[email protected]

The post Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Games

Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

A new live-round Stake Original where every player bets on the same outcome – six animals, a 20-tile track, three results per round, and wins up to 1,000x in play.