The nation of Romania has asked for Google and Meta to step in to banish black market advertising.
Romanian National Gambling Office (ONJN), the nation’s regulatory body, has complained to both search providers to take responsibility for these illicit organisations that can hoodwink willing bettors.
ONJN submits official complaints to Google and Meta
The regulatory body conducted an audit in February 2025, which discovered that Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Google advertising all hosted avenues to illegal and black market providers of gambling.
The ONJN has questioned the Silicon Valley institutions, saying the regulator needs the data from Google and Meta to show the origins of these illegal adverts and to provide the root cause of the individuals who are continuing to make money from them.
Speaking at a conference titled “Fighting Financial Crime in Central Europe,” the President of the National Gambling Office, Vlad-Cristian Soare, was direct in addressing the threat that black market operators pose to the nation.
He said, “The black market in gambling is a social threat: players have no protection, and the state faces a significant risk to its economic and financial security.”
“It is estimated that, at EU level, of the total gambling revenues, over 70% go to the black market, and under 30% to the regulated (taxed) market,” Soare continued.
“The black market is extremely attractive to players: there is no taxation on winnings there, and the offers are often more tempting, as illegal organizers, not paying taxes, can present a much more attractive offer.”
This led to calls in the Romanian parliament to step up the pressure on Google and Meta for them to take responsibility for providing these illicit operators an opportunity to catch the eye of gamblers.
In the wake of the February audit, it was found that close to $1bn was lost in projected tax revenue between 2019 and 2023.
ONJN then faced criticism from members of the Save Romania Party (USR) who wanted their responsibilities for enacting regulations to be transferred to the Romanian national revenue office.
Feature Image Credit: Pixlr AI-generated.
