The appointment was made last night, it is now 8 o’clock in the morning and this second you are asking me to know the legislation

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appointed Cristian-Gabriel Pascu as vice-president at the National Gambling Office on Monday, at the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette. Cristian-Gabriel Pascu has no connection with the gambling industry, according to his CV. He has a degree in hairdressing and graduated from Hyperion Law School (Private) at the age of 32.

He was a local councilor at the Sector 6 City Hall from the PNL side and was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Sector 6 Innovation and Urban Design Center subordinated to the city hall. Pascu is also the president of the PNL Businessmen’s Club in Sector 6.

the official CV shows that he has been active for most of his career in the barbershop sector, being the administrator of some “beauty salons”. He also appears as a consultant for a construction company and a technology company.

He also mentioned in his CV the position of presenter at Euforia TV, a television station focused on entertainment shows. Pascu constantly appeared in the cancan press, being involved in scandals with other characters from the entertainment industry.

Asked by the G4Media reporter what relevant experience qualifies him for this job in the field of gambling regulation, Cristian Gabriel Pascu said: “Strictly in the field of gambling, I cannot say that I have experience in the field. My relevant experience is as an entrepreneur, I had many businesses in different fields. I finished a law school at the time, I had several business experiences. In general, in everything I do, I try to do the best I can”.

Asked if he could say on the basis of which legislation the National Gaming Office was established and operates, Pascu said: “If you ask me to know the legislation in the field, I really can’t help you, it’s a relatively new field. Consider that the appointment was made last night, it is now 8 o’clock in the morning and this very second you are asking me to know the legislation. I was appointed there because when I was given a task I carried it through. Let me get into the bread and I’ll be at your disposal with all the details about the legislation”.

Pascu also said that one of the relevant experiences is a decision of the District 6 Local Council, initiated by him, whereby all authorizations for companies in the sector are made once every 4 years and not every 6 months, as it was before.

The National Gambling Office (ONJN) is the institution that regulates and arbitrates the online gambling and betting market, a market estimated at several billion euros annually.

A part of civil society and several parliamentarians have constantly criticized the lack of reaction of the state authorities to the rapid expansion of gambling among vulnerable categories. Despite the rapid increase in the number of people addicted to gambling, the PSD-PNL coalition has blocked all bills that would limit the presence of betting parlors and betting advertising in localities.

The bills have been blocked for a year in the Chamber of Deputies, where PSD and PNL have the majority.