Av. prof. Dr. Marius PANTEA
By Av. Prof. Dr. Marius PANTEA
As is customary, we welcome the new General Director of the Romanian Lottery, Mr. Sebastian-Iacob Moga and the new President of ONJN, Mr. Constantin Cătălin Voinea-Mic, and we wish them to successfully face the digitization of the two institutions they run, the challenge of 2020, as we consider it.
We believe that it’s time for the national lottery to find the technical and administrative solutions for online lotto games launching or to allow the purchase of lotto games tickets by phones, computers, terminals and tablets. We also hope that the new management of ONJN will identify solutions that allow game operators, second class licensed and all interested persons to submit documents, requests etc. in electronic format, to receive answers to the various practical problems in the daily life of the gambling industry, also by using new techniques (e-mail, digital signature, etc.).
We also want to thank the two previous leaders, Mr. Sebastian Ionescu and Alexandru Croitoru, for the efforts made and their performance during their management in the two institutions. Furthermore, we wish them success in the future, because they both play important roles where that allows them to support and influence the evolution of the gambling market in our country.
Enough with the politeness, let’s move on to the challenges of the year that has just begun. We must not forget that this month we expect to solve the problems raised by the notification of the draft Order regulating the minimum technical conditions of the verification of means of play, we hope in the near future for the issuance of specific instructions for preventing money laundering, through gambling, identifying the solutions raised by the impossibility of opening bank accounts for gambling operators, launching projects for the prevention of gambling addiction, etc.
We propose the application for European funds that allow the development of the administrative capacities of ONJN by submitting projects or accessing the public-private line, involving the members of the Advisory Council in launching social projects at national level, which will allow an increased visibility of the gambling industry in our country. We are launching a challenge on this topic to our colleagues from the profile press to identify and present -with the objectivity they have become accustomed us- the situation and the problems in the industry, to invite public, political and academic personalities to express their opinions and to present competing solutions to the problems of current gambling practice.
Last but not least, we address the players and remind them of the industry motto “responsible gambling” and to inform again that gambling represents a means of fun and adrenaline, not an easy enrichment solution!
We think that all the people involved in the gambling industry in Romania are expecting a “20 20” with stability, predictability and prosperity. We hope that the decision makers will have the wisdom to find solutions to the problems of the field, which can be implemented successfully as a result of consultations with the Advisory Council, partner ONJN, and specialists from different fields.
In addition to the issues related to voluntary compliance in respect of intellectual property rights specific to gambling, a challenge that has been launched for some time, we propose to the industry to identify solutions that help the environment, by disciplining the producers, operators and auxiliaries involved, by reducing the consumption of paper and plastic, by identifying recycling solutions, that can be an example for other industries, and last but not least by raising awareness regarding the important role of the environmental protection over other aspects specific to the gambling industry.
In other news, we propose the establishment of an association -that includes gambling specialised lawyers, legal experts, economists, accountants, tax experts, technical and judicial experts, etc.- to bring together the specialists who exist in this niche field and whose main objective is to provide specialized consultancy to the three actors involved in the gambling market – the state (whether we are talking about ONJN or the tax authorities), operators (regardless of license level) and not least the player (landbased or online).
We launch this proposal hoping that the association will constitute a specialized pillar, which will be able to take attitude and be consulted, in order to prevent the legal, fiscal or other slippages of any kind, will be actively involved through the Consultative Council in the national gambling market and will be an honest and well-documented partner for ONJN and for all persons involved in gambling field. There are lawyers and tax experts in the market who have proven, over time, their best (see the latest lawsuits on the 5% of the Fiscal Code and many others), and the purpose of such association would be precisely to prevent such situations, which harm both the operators and the state (which will probably have to pay some damages – based on interpretations of some employees more or less trained in this situation).
