The Senate of Romania has approved a new bill called “Protect the Age of Innocence”, which will add restrictions on gambling and increase the gambling age from 18 to 21.
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Romania to limit or ban gambling halls
Multiple mayors in Romania are calling to add restrictions on land-based gambling, with Slatina’s mayor Mario de Mezzo seeking to ban gambling in the city.
De Mezzo stated that he would act according to the new legislation to make sure that betting shops and gambling halls are fully eliminated after existing licenses expire. In support of De Mezzo, Lucian Braniște, the mayor of Vaslui, announced that he would present a draft resolution to ban the city’s gambling halls too.
Braniște commented:
“In recent years, gambling has become a serious problem in many communities in Romania. Beyond advertisements and colorful lights, behind these halls, there are too often stories of affected families, debts, addiction, and suffering.”
Ploești’s mayor, Mihai Polițeanu, also said that he would propose to the City Council to ban betting shops, stressing that the city had become a “strange” environment after the spread of bookmakers. The mayors of Brăila and Rădăuți followed with their own announcements of seeking to limit gambling activities.
The new gambling law in Romania requires operators to not only get a national license, but also local authorization. This means that local councils have the power to allow or restrict gambling halls in their jurisdictions, which depends on them getting enough council votes to support the ban proposals.
Romania’s Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN) has proposed an overhaul of the country’s self-exclusion system to close legal gaps and introduce effective...
