Exclusive interview with Cristinela Odeta Nestor President of the Romanian National Office for Gambling

During our quest to highlight a new emerging online gambling market, we managed to contact an official of the Romanian National Office for Gambling. In our luck we had the opportunity, and we want to thank her for that, to interview the President of the establishment, Ms. Cristinela Odeta Nestor. So without further introduction, here goes our interview:

EEG: Firstly, can you give us a short description of the National Office for Gambling and what it means to you?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: As you may know, the National Office for Gambling was the first public institute in Romania, which aims to support a regulated market, meaning it includes all specific activities of the market, from the “birth” of the gambling organizer, including the licensing and authorization process till the monitoring, overlooking and controlling specific activities.

In regards to the authorization activity, a huge deal of efforts has been made to improve the legislation, the online gambling regulation being the primary target.

The monitoring activity has witnessed an increased movement towards the online environment in identifying website that promote un-licensed games in Romania or carry out this sort of activity on the territory of Romania.

As terms of the control activity, observing the actions that were taken by our specialized directorates within the National Office for Gambling, I can state that the share of un-authorized activities has reduced significantly. Our organization’s staff, in collaboration with structures of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is performing continuous controls and are monitoring the niche market to combat tax evasion.

In my opinion, the National Office for Gambling itself is a unique establishment with tasks of supervision, monitoring and control over the gambling market, also represents an efficient tool to combatting illegal activities.

I would also like to underline that over the next period of time, we are looking to create the necessary process for the creation of a communication campaign dedicated to the protection of the consumer, which will revolve on creating the public awareness regarding the risks of gambling addiction and protection of the under aged.

EEG: If our information’s are correct, you’ve recently participated the ICE Totally Gaming in London. Did you get the chance to visit the London Affiliate Conference as well? We are in a long business relationship with these organizations (personal, business, etc.) and would like to get your opinion in regards this sort of events.

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: During our displacement in London, we have visited the European Online Gaming Forum – C5 and the ICE Totally Gaming 2015.

We have aware about the London Affiliate Conference, but unfortunately our time and institutional procedures didn’t allow us to designate a representant to attend this event.

These events are very expected ones, by the gaming industry and bring together leaders of opinion, important operators and highly ranked factors that shape each branch of the online gambling industry. This is the reason we considered our presence appropriate and beneficial, taking high account about it also represented a meaningful privilege of prominence for our institution and the promotion of our new legislation that is currently in the implementation process.  

EEG: Is there possibility to organize such an event in the near future on the territory of Romania?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: Conferences, expos such as the ICE benefit of a special importance in the crowds of the gambling industry representants, are highly awaited with lots of enthusiasm and supply a major rank of exposure and networking, being a “must” in the agenda of anyone involved in the field.

Events dedicated for the gambling industry are already organized in Romania. Of course, there are not by the same stature as ICE Totally Gaming, which already represents a tradition for the people involved in the gambling industry, but they do have an important impact for the Romanian market.

Given the fact of the recent modification, I can tell you that in the context of the current legislation, the foreign operators are extremely interested in the approach of the online gambling industry in Romania. This is something that has been confirmed to us over our attendance at the two events held in London.

Considering of course the visibility and the opening these sort of events confer, there are welcomed to be held in Romania as well. However, it is a subject which requires more ample discussions keeping track of its weight and importance, and I consider it can only be organized with mutual efforts in conjunction with ours, as representants of the state, and the industry representants of the private sector.

EEG: Focusing on the Government Emergency Ordinance 92/2014, do you believe that this decision will bring a real benefit to Romania? What chances are there to bring an extra income to the Romanian state?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: The legislative modifications target current issues that were established as a result while consulting the gambling industry. We had model legislations coming from other European countries, where similar measures have been taken and fairly work among the involved countries.

We are well aware that any legislations is needs perfection and the fact that the gambling industry is very dynamic, it forces us to pay a larger attention to changes of these legislations in Europe, to be aligned with their beliefs.

By the new reglemantions, we regulated the online gambling market’s taxation in multiple categories, including the service providers in the field(software providers, auditors). The modifications include the terms that refer to the license obtainment regarding the economic operators that are going to wield in the territory of online gambling, adding new categories of gambling methods(online counterparty betting, poker festivals, temporary games of luck), and the most important modification is the elimination of the 25% taxing of each player by adding new taxation models, specific to each game.

Operators looking to conduct their activity on the Romanian market are obligated to obtain a license and pay taxes related to their activities, otherwise risk to be undermined by the controlling measurements that is governed by the Government Emergency Ordinance 92/2014 which involve blacklisting, blocking the access to the platform of the operator via local internet providers and measurements treating the case as a criminal offense.

Regarding the online gambling, we can estimate, based on a comparison study and a forecast conducted by experts in the field, that incomes of the state based only on the direct taxes coming from the operators that are going to obtain a license during the course of the current year, which especially will be activating in the online environment, will rise to the sum of 100 million EUROS.

EEG: This decision is a much awaited news by the companies, professionals that would like to get involved in this industry and weren’t allowed in the past. Is there any feedback coming from this part that is addressed to the National Office for Gambling? Could you give examples?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: Businessman involved in the gambling industry have been awaiting the introduction of a new and complete regulation that authorizes online gambling, thus have been involved in many debates in our Advisory Board. Broad discussions have created the bridge, a common ground of work for those involved in a regulated market.

Beside the operators that are members of the RGA, whom by their representatives are members of the Advisory Board, we have received positive signals coming from everyone we meet in London, large operators, suppliers, testing laboratories, in one word, representant of every branch of the gambling industry, have saluted our initiative to adapt to the reality of the market and have expressed their interest in obtaining a license in Romania.

We consider that 2015 is going to be a year of transition to an European level online gambling market in Romania, modern, efficient, correct and completely regulated, and it will be a year in which we shall put all our efforts to bring all those large operators, which have been already been present in our online gambling environment, to a perfectly legal state on the territory of Romania.

EEG: In our experience, we have come to a meaning, that if different organizations that activate in the same industry start collaborating, the acceleration of the steps and not to mention the profits will rise. Is the National Office for Gambling available for non-governmental collaborations with companies looking to promote this activity? And of course to bring operators in Romania for licensing?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: As you may be aware, according to our laws, we organize at least one monthly meeting with the members of the Advisory Board, constituted organization in accordance to legal regulations, with representants of the companies, their associates, including the RGA, poker players, slot-machine operators, etc. I can say that, I am very pleased by the involvement of the operators during the completion and the efficiency creation of our specific legislation, but I have to mention the collaboration with the competent institutes of the gambling industry aswell. The Advisory Board has a great merit in this process, by creating and winning this mutual trust.

So, the answer to your question is, certainly. Our door will be always open to those willing to develop a legal, well-balanced and correct business in terms of the competition.

EEG: Our organization want to get involved directly in the activity of promoting and bringing the companies interested in the Eastern European Gambling market. Our mission is to educate the online users in regarding the online gambling industry. Would you consider a future collaboration regarding the know-how of the industry?

Cristinela Odeta Nestor: As I said earlier, our relations with the private sector is very important to us. An open, correct relation with constant dialogue with the representants of the “gambling industry”, organizations and associates of the niche can only be materialized by efficiency.

Generally, the large operators have an extremely good knowledge of the Romanian market and are aware of the National Office for Gambling’s approach, this way any collaboration is open in terms of the laws of course.

The official letter from the Romanian National Office for Gambling, regarding the interview conducted with Ms. Nestor can be read bellow.

http://eegaming.org/static/official-interview.PDF