This week, the National Office for Gambling (ONJN) issued a ruling that effectively blocks access to Polymarket, calling it an unlicensed operator that had quietly turned into one of the country’s biggest election-season betting venues.
Election Fever Turns Into Crypto Mania
During Romania’s recent presidential and local elections, Polymarket saw an explosion of activity as users speculated on political outcomes using crypto tokens. Officials said trading volumes surged beyond $600 million, a figure that drew the attention of regulators accustomed to traditional sportsbooks, not blockchain dashboards.
The ONJN’s verdict: Polymarket isn’t an “event trading” marketplace as it claims — it’s a digital casino. The regulator described its model as “counterpart betting,” where users wager directly against one another and the platform earns a commission from those trades.
“Technology Doesn’t Change the Law”
Vlad-Cristian Soare, head of the ONJN, pushed back against the notion that decentralized architecture exempts Polymarket from oversight. “Whether a person bets in cash or crypto, it’s still gambling,” he said, stressing that the issue is legal, not technological.
Officials also accused the platform of failing to comply with essential requirements such as anti–money laundering controls, player protection, and tax reporting. Romanian internet service providers have now been ordered to block the site.
Not the First, Nor the Last
Romania’s move echoes a familiar pattern worldwide. In 2022, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Polymarket for operating unregistered derivatives markets, forcing it to close access to American users. Similar restrictions have appeared in Belgium, France, Poland, Singapore, and Thailand, where authorities have flagged the same core concern: betting is still betting, even when it runs on blockchain rails.
Yet despite the mounting scrutiny, Polymarket has continued to expand. The platform recently attracted a $2 billion investment from the Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange — a sign that traditional finance still sees potential in crypto-powered event markets.
A Controversial Reentry Plan
While Romania is closing its doors, Polymarket is quietly reopening another. According to Bloomberg, the company plans to restore limited trading access for U.S. users by the end of November, focusing initially on sports outcomes rather than political or economic events.
The move comes after a related exchange acquired by Polymarket received a no-action letter from the CFTC, clearing a narrow path for a compliant relaunch.
Betting on the Future
Polymarket’s defenders argue that the platform represents something bigger than gambling: a way to crowdsource information and gauge public expectations about real-world events. Regulators, however, remain unconvinced — especially as election betting grows in scale and visibility.
For now, Romania’s decision underscores a widening rift between crypto’s global ambitions and national legal frameworks. The same question lingers everywhere Polymarket operates: can prediction markets be treated as financial instruments — or will governments always see them as gambling in disguise?