WILLPOWER AND EXPERIANCE AT ONJN – Being a police officer also requires, mastering the ‘art ‘ of annoying others! 244h3r
Mr. Dan Bucur and Mr. Marius Pantea, the two Police Chief Commissaries of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on loan to the National Gambling Office (ONJN) are part of the tight team that is handles the institution’s leadership, together with Mrs. President Odeta Néstor. This article will give you the opportunity to learn the latest news about the work of the institution dealing with the smooth running of our gambling industry, using two of the most important its Directions: the Directorate of Control and the Directorate of Gambling License. 1t6b3m
Dan Bucur is world economics doctor and Director of the Directorate of Fraud Investigation of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police and is on loan as General Manager of the General Directorate of Gambling Control of the National Gambling Office. 342j19
Reporter: What are the main objectives that you consider for 2014 in regard to the aspect of control?
Dan Bucur: Considering the fact that this institution is recently established (no.- National Gambling Office), and that the institution’s history is very short, we aim to maintain the priorities that we had in the previous year. I am referring, firstly, to the main direction of action, namely, combating unlawful acts such as criminal and tresing, which are practiced in this economic sector, so as to ensure a stable competitive environment, legal and predictable. Also, we keep in mind the aspects of compliance of the economic operators, for the purposes of financial and able discipline, as a result of the fiscal control activity, in other words, our presence in the field. Last but not least, we’re looking at new ways of action, designed in such a way as to embrace aspects of protection of minors and of vulnerable persons. These actions are primarily for prevention and deterrence of attempts of breaking the law, at the expense of those cautioned.
Reporter: How do you propose to perform the controls – will those be random or will they be carried out under certain predetermined intervals of time?
Dan Bucur: We hope that we can maintain a high frequency of the controlling activity and to diversify the forms and methods used. The diversification of the controlling method also depends on the nature of the information that we have. When we have specific information about the existence of an area with illegal activity, obviously we will direct to a territorial specified area. When we have information about people in the society who accept and practice illegal activities in a licensed kind of activity, we will take into the entire area indicated. We are otherwise required to act upon complaints sent by people who consider that their rights have been broken during the operation and organization of gambling, betting or other adjacent organized activities.
Reporter: Do you some certain pointers or targets to follow that you propose to achieve later this year?
Dan Bucur: We would like to use some built-in or quality indicators like: the number of criminal referrals sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to the Police, the number of game devices seized or put out of work, showing that we consistently prejudice the black economy or the black market of this field. The number of verifications carried out is also a quantity indicator, which shows how well we use the available resources. We want to integrate these with other indicators, namely increasing the number of authorized slots machines, taxes increase, increasing the number of authorizations, as well as the gambling budgetary revenue. We do not have indicators like the number of offences applied or their value, whereas we do not want a control that resembles a tax plan or money collecting plan. These indicators of an economic nature must be integrated with those of quantity and quality specific to the activity of control.
Reporter: Within two months ONJN shall have one year of existence. What is your point of view in regard to the control – do you believe that during this year has the gaming market managed to get accustomed with this body?
Dan Bucur: The relationship with the market is a complex one and we want it to be a two-way street. On one hand, I felt and encouragement from the organizers for the purposes of cooperation and training, and on the other hand, I hope they understand our intention to ensure legality of the field, but also the fact that those more than 1,000 slot machines seized in 2013 show that we are a solid in assisting those who engaged in legal and honest activities on this market.
Reporter: The operators have complained frequently about the black market. What message would you address operators in order to convince them to help you improve your control work?
Dan Bucur: I’m a consistent er of the public-private partnership, that’s why I know that without the of the organizers we could not carry out an effective control of the activity. We therefore ask for their with information or analysis that they have at hand, to direct control in those areas in which action is needed in order to maintain legality.
Reporter: What are the main problems you’ve faced so far and which are the problems you consider to be a priority?
Dan Bucur: Naturally, we try to keep a balance in all directions of action, but considering the fact that activities involving slots machines are the most consistent in of volume, most problems appear obviously, in this area. It’s about unauthorized machines, circumvention or fraud of the taxes relating to the operation of legal gambling, but we also find deficiencies in the field of bets, and these are reported by players. We are glad that the activity of the poker clubs has been regulated and stabilized in the sense that there are authorized poker clubs, while those without authorization have ceased operation or are pending for authorization.
Marius Pantea is Jurum Doctor, University Lecturer, head of the discipline Investigation of Economic and Financial Crime, within the Police Academy and on loan to the Director General Directorate of Gambling Control of the National Gambling Office as General Manager of the General Directorate of Gambling Authorization.
Reporter: How was the end of 2013 for the authorizations area that you are concerned within the ONJN and what goals do you have for 2014?
Marius Pantea: The year of 2013 has brought about a plus with the creation of a National Gambling Office, because it is the first time when the of authorization, monitoring and control activities of the field of gambling are coordinated by a single institution – the National Gambling Office, and this allowed better management of the real issues of legal organizers and a better involvement of the State in the political, social and economical protection of minors or other vulnerable groups, in order to avoid gambling addiction. Another aspect, also important, is the fact that at this time ONJN collaborates effectively with the representatives of the of the ‘gaming industry’ in our country, considering that at least once a month we meet the Advisory Board, where the practical problems are exposed, the improvement of legislative issues, as well as a cooperation in order to eliminate illegal operators on the black market of gaming. With the commencement of the ONJN control activity, the Authorization Department is concerned to provide the necessary data for carrying out rigorous verification (particularly in case of those who had no license and authorization). Also, we have strived to respond better to the requests coming from those in the industry and we tried to respond promptly to requests for licensing and approval of new types of games, considering during that last year, poker clubs have made their appearance on the Romanian gaming market, and until this moment we have 21 approved clubs throughout the country. They operate legally and pay taxes to the Romanian State. For next year, we propose to cooperate as efficiently as possible with those in the gaming industry, to respond promptly to the problems they encounter, and to regulate online gambling, I hope we will succeed to meet the expectations of those present in the gambling industry.
Reporter: Do you believe that the number of devices targeted this year will increase compared to the previous year?
Marius Pantea: Last year the number of devices increased, up to the end of the year about 70,000 slots were authorized and I believe that this trend of growth will continue, taking into the present actions of control and regulations.
Reporter: We note, however, a slight decrease tendency of the number of operators …
Marius Pantea: This trend is not confirmed, given the fact that on January 1st 2013, our records showed of 443 licensed traders, while on January 1st 2014 nearly 500 operators were recorded.
Reporter: What are the main expectations of the market from the Department of Authorization?
Marius Pantea: The first requirement of the market is the elimination of bureaucracy, with which we fully agree and we are trying to bring to fruition, meaning that this year we will try to put at the disposal of the operators the opportunity to provide the Office with licensing and authorization data, as well as data regarding the relocation of the game devices or location space changes, in electronic format by placing them under digital signature directly on the official website of ONJN at www.onjn.gov.ro. At this point, together with the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) we are testing such an application, which will to the games industry’s assistance. We also strive to regulate as soon as possible the online gaming market, considering that until this moment there no operating license or authorization of operation has been issued for these types of games, which are allowed even since 2010.
Reporter: What are the main problems you have encountered in the first year of existence and how did you solve them?
Marius Pantea: The main objective of the National Gambling Office is to apply with uniformity, fairness, and without discrimination the legal provisions in force in the field of gaming, so the main problem identified by us was the more or less justified delay of the process of verification and metrological certificates issuance by the Romanian Bureau of legal Metrology (BRML). However, last year, no operator who has submitted the complete documentation was postponed. All of them have received the authorization and license during the month they have filed the necessary documentation, as a result of the understanding shown by the Coordinating Committee, the governing body that leads us. This year also we are trying to come to the aid of the organizers and we posted on the Office’s Website a schedule of meetings of the Committee -two meetings per month, so that the organizers may prepare the documentation necessary for entering the meetings of the Coordination Committee, in due time.
Reporter: What would the biggest success of the direction you manage under ONJN be, during this first year of operation?
Marius Pantea: As far as I’m concerned, I consider that the establishment of the ONJN and setting up the team led by Mrs. President Odeta Néstor, is a success. The fact that the President has managed to bring people with experience and willpower in the management team, but also the fact that together we are trying to solve the problems in the field of gambling poses a challenge, one we hope to face with success. As regards the Direction of Authorization, it has a team of young serious and ambitious people, and together we will try to respond promptly to all requests to come. Please allow me to thank my colleagues, both those in the managerial team and the subordinates, for their confidence and help!
Reporter: What are the regulatory or legislative improvements you take into consideration?
Marius Pantea: Thus far, the Office has closely studied the land based and online gambling legislation of the Member States of the European Union and we hope that in no time we can regulate the market in such a way that the trader could benefit from a predictable environment for the work it carries out. We also tried to “take the pulse” of the existing rules, during which we found a few issues that we hope to correct in the future. At this time the Office is working on a legislative proposal, discussed with industry partners and with the in charge institutions of the State, through which we are trying, on the one hand, to bring to a common ground the interest of the State, which is of primary importance in my opinion, and on the other hand, the interest of the organizers and players. In this sense we are trying to bring about the agenda regarding the establishment of certain norms, which would be in conformity with the European legislation of the provision of services, and would take into of the protection of minors and of the addicted persons, but at the same time will also provide real protection to Romanian s and when I say this, I think of modification concerning online gambling licensing. We also consider certain actions in order to eliminate bureaucracy and important issues which will prevent and help combat fraud and money laundering within the gaming field, along with the establishment of legal norms that will allow investors from this area to have a predictable environment to work in and thus to assist in the creation of a competitive and attractive market in Romania.
Reporter: Why it is important for those who are not authorized at all or for those partly authorized to do so, in other words, what risks would they avoid and what advantages would they benefit from?
Marius Pantea: By complying with the concerning legal provisions, both the organizer and player will avoid some possible problems. Thus, the organizer that obtains license and authorization from the Office and pays its statutory duties and taxes to the State budget, has a business that allows him to obtain lawful earnings, as opposed to a “fraudster” who commits contest violation of several offences, such as: tax fraud, failure to comply with the regime of gambling and money laundering. The player who’s accessing unauthorized gambling is exposed to a very high risk, as he is committing a crime, prosecuted under the law in force by participating in online gambling, while as regards participation in illegal land based games there is a risk of not receiving the money the respective player has won or to be cheated by various means by owner of the games that have no metrological certificate. From the point of view of competition, I consider that it is not natural that on the same market should operate legal persons who are charged fees by the State, along with those that circumvent, or rather steal from money that is due the State budget.
