How did 2024 shape up for the Responsible Gaming Association
In 2024, sponsorships were influenced by legislative changes that impacted the gambling industry.
Since the association’s funding came only from operators (private and state-owned, through the Romanian Lottery) we had to adjust the volume of our programs to the level of sponsorship; thus, between May and July, the Responsible Gaming program was only available for the first 15 requests of the month, the 24/7 Counselling program was transformed into a 10/5 Hotline (10 hours a day for 5 days), and support groups were suspended. Starting in August, we returned to the non-stop format for 24/7 Counselling, support group meetings resumed, and Responsible Gaming was offered to 35 applicants per month. The programs “Trained for coming of age” and “Training for employees” saw two sessions which were held in 2024. The BetBlocker app is available on the website, where it can be downloaded for free.
In terms of volume, the Responsible Gaming program recorded 1,445 calls to the Call Center, of which 405 (a decrease of 24% compared to the previous year) were therapy appointments (taking into account that in May-July we accepted 15, and as of August we accepted 35 applicants/month).
Most applicants were from Bucharest (565 – cumulative since November 2021, when the CRM associated with the Call Center was introduced).
The 24/7 Counselling Program recorded 5,383 calls (an increase of 5% compared to 2023)
Analysing the distribution of the 5,383 calls by hourly intervals, it can be seen that between 00:00 and 08:00, there were 1,128 calls (20% of the total), a fact which reflects the importance of the program in a non-stop format.
In the Support Group program, we merged the groups and by the end of the year only 3 groups remained active (two for addicts and one for family members); we only ran a few sessions within the “Trained for coming of age” program.
What can you tell us about the Association’s programs in 2025?
In 2025, we continued with the same program volumes as at the end of 2024. Comparing the data from the first three months of 2025 with the data from the same period of the previous year, several developments can be highlighted:
The share of registrations in Bucharest & Ilfov decreased (41% compared to 51%), but the share of registrations in Dobrogea (9% compared to 6%), Transylvania (15% compared to 12%), and Moldova (13% compared to 9%) increased. The last column in the table represents the share of the population of the respective region in the population of Romania according to the 2022 census.
Doubling of calls to the Call Center; 2,695 calls in Q1/2025 compared to 1,304 calls in Q1/2024.
Non-business calls
As for the reason for calling the Call Centre, we see an upward trend in the number of non-business (vulgar) calls, especially since last summer.
Increase in requests from online players
A comparison of data from the two quarters shows an increase in the proportion of purely online players.
Even though registrations were lower overall in 2025 (for the reasons outlined above), the number of purely online players rose from 23% to 31%.
Increase in the proportion of players aged 25-45, from 62% to 68%
Increase in requests for self-exclusion addressed to the Association
While in 2024 we received between 15 and 30 requests per month for self-exclusion, in recent months this number has increased to as many as 150-200 per month.
Do you have any news?
Yes, we do. With regard to existing programs, we now have the ability to detect the origin of calls based on the country where the caller is located. Thus, of the 2,695 calls, almost 9% are from the Diaspora, concentrated in 12 Western countries. Most calls from abroad were from Germany (56) and the United Kingdom (42).
We also have a new initiative: we want to understand the effectiveness of a 15-session cognitive-behavioural psychological intervention program, using tools to reduce addictive behaviour associated with gambling.
That is why we have initiated a study involving 20 subjects; the interim results are particularly interesting. After the study is completed (June), we will return with a detailed article presenting the results.
Sponsors, sponsors. Are there any new sponsors?
The association’s entire activity is still made possible by sponsorship from private and state operators, but sometimes we also receive sponsorship from individuals. In addition to the three founding members: Romslot, Romanian Bookmakers, and Rombet, we have been joined by the following “long-standing” sponsors over the last 12 months (in alphabetical order): Admiral, Betano, CT Gaming, Game World, Loteria Română, Maxbet, Superbet, Unibet, Winbet, and Win2, to which new sponsors have been added: Bonus, EGT, Magic Games, Totogaming, and V-bet.
As always, our programs are open to all applicants, regardless of whether they are customers of our sponsors.
Moreover, to give a complete picture of the behaviour of various operators, I would also like to mention a few operators that do not sponsor us but use our association’s logo and, implicitly, our organization’s services: FrankCasino, Don Casino, and Winmasters.
What is your relationship with ONJN
We have the same cooperation with the National Gambling Office (ONJN), even though the Office has not yet managed to implement awareness, prevention, or addiction treatment programs. I am convinced that the obstacles that have blocked these programs will be overcome by the new leadership and that we will soon be able to put the skills accumulated by the association’s team to good use, whether as a centre of excellence, a hub of know-how, or for scaling up programs at the national level, for the benefit of society.
