Self-exclusion is a person's right to ask for their own access to gambling to be cut off. The National Gambling Office (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, ONJN) describes the procedure on its official page on self-exclusion, which is in Romanian. This article only summarises the information on that page. For any detail, the ONJN page and the order it refers to remain the reference.
Legal basis and purpose
According to ONJN, the right to request self-exclusion is provided for in art. 15¹ of Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 77/2009. Self-exclusion means interrupting the person's access to gambling in order to protect their own emotional, financial and social health.
The ONJN page also sets out two essential points:
- self-exclusion is voluntary, but it is binding on gambling organisers;
- the request can only be made in one's own name.
The four ways to submit a request
A self-exclusion request is submitted, in one's own name, in one of the following ways.
1. At ONJN's head office or its territorial offices
The person comes in with an identity document and fills in the request on the spot, and the request is validated.
ONJN's head office is in Bucharest, at Calea Victoriei nr. 9, sector 3. Its opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 09:00 to 15:30 and Friday from 09:00 to 13:00.
ONJN's territorial services have main and secondary offices in Sibiu, Brașov, Suceava, Iași, Bistrița, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Arad, Constanța, Galați, Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Craiova, Târgoviște and Pitești. For all of these offices, the ONJN page gives Friday opening hours, from 09:00 to 13:00. The exact addresses and phone numbers are published on the ONJN page.
2. By e-mail, with a qualified electronic signature
The request is sent to autoexcludere@onjn.gov.ro. This route requires a qualified electronic signature. Anyone who does not have one can obtain it from accredited providers; ONJN states that the full list of providers is available on the website of the Romanian Digitalisation Authority (Autoritatea pentru Digitalizarea României).
3. By a notarial declaration or one certified by a lawyer
The declaration must contain all the data set out in the form included in the order. It is sent to the e-mail address given in the order, directly by the notary or by the lawyer.
4. Through a licensed gambling organiser
The person hands the organiser the self-exclusion request form included in the order, in original, together with a copy of their identity card. The organiser is legally required to send the request to ONJN within 2 working days at most.
What must be observed
ONJN points out that every field of the request must be filled in correctly and completely. Incomplete requests, or requests sent the wrong way, are not processed.
In all four cases, the applicant receives an e-mail confirming that the request has been processed.
The ONJN page provides the self-exclusion request, a model notarial declaration and a model declaration certified by a lawyer for download. The model requests are included in the order, which the page makes available to read.
Withdrawing consent
Consent to self-exclusion can be withdrawn only at ONJN, in one of the following ways:
- At ONJN's head office or its territorial offices. The request is processed on the spot, after the person's identity has been checked against their identity document.
- By e-mail, with a qualified electronic signature. The applicant receives written confirmation after verification.
- By a notarial declaration or one certified by a lawyer. The notary or lawyer sends the declaration by e-mail to the same address.
For withdrawal, the ONJN page provides a model request to withdraw consent, as well as the model notarial declaration and the model declaration certified by a lawyer.
ONJN warns that requests submitted to operators are not valid and do not relieve operators of their liability if they allow access to gambling contrary to the regulations.
In brief
- Legal basis: art. 15¹ of OUG no. 77/2009.
- Who requests it: the person concerned, only in their own name.
- How to request it: at ONJN (head office or territorial offices), by e-mail with a qualified electronic signature, by a notarial declaration or one certified by a lawyer, or through a licensed gambling organiser.
- How consent is withdrawn: only at ONJN, in one of the three ways described above.
- Nature: voluntary for the person, binding on organisers.
For questions, ONJN gives the address autoexcludere@onjn.gov.ro.
Related articles
The signs that gambling may have become a problem are described in the article Signs of problem gambling. Other forms of support, from the family doctor to help for relatives, are covered in the article Where to find help.
Source
- National Gambling Office (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc), official page Autoexcludere (Self-exclusion), consulted on 24 September 2026.