Romania is preparing for a new offensive against gambling. Members of Parliament Raluca Turcan (PNL) and Diana Stoica (USR) have introduced two bills in Parliament that aim to substantially amend Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2019, focusing on the protection of minors and the regulation of advertising.

Raising the minimum age from 18 to 21

The first proposal, authored by Raluca Turcan, calls for raising the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21. According to the MP, young people between the ages of 18 and 21 are "in an extremely vulnerable emotional and financial phase": they are starting university, entering the job market, and facing personal financial decisions for the first time.

Turcan emphasizes that, at this age, impulsiveness, the need for social acceptance, and a lack of awareness of the consequences can make young people easy targets for the industry's aggressive marketing. Hence the need to grant them a period of emotional and financial maturity before allowing them access to gambling.

There are already precedents in several European countries—including Portugal, Greece, and Moldova—where raising the minimum age has helped, according to the cited studies, to reduce early indebtedness and the first signs of addiction.

The debate is fueled by alarming data: according to research cited by Diana Stoica, one in four Romanian teenagers has already gambled before reaching adulthood, many of them even before the age of 14. The parliamentarian emphasizes that the young brain is not fully developed until the age of 21, particularly in the area that regulates impulse control and decision-making skills.

"We have an obligation to protect our children from the scourge of gambling," Stoica states. "Slot machines destroy lives and families. We know that this addiction affects those with fewer emotional and rational resources to cope with it the most severely."

Online advertising is prohibited from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, as is the participation of influencers and public figures.

The second bill, championed by Stoica, addresses the issue of advertising, considered a key channel for attracting young people to gambling.

The text provides:

A ban on online gambling advertising between 6:00 a.m. and midnight,
that is, during the time when children and teenagers are most active on social media and digital platforms;

A ban on the use of influencers, athletes, and public figures in promotional campaigns;

A requirement for clear warnings about the risks of addiction in all digital and physical campaigns.

Turcan explains that young people no longer respond to traditional advertising, but rather to the content of their role models: "When a popular figure normalizes gambling, the message is toxic: gambling seems acceptable, even attractive, and potentially profitable. This must stop."

The law would therefore extend the current ban, limited to audiovisual content, until 11:00 p.m., bringing it to the very heart of minors' digital activity: the web.

Romania is already conducting a regulatory review of the sector. In June, the ONJN, the regulatory authority, took action against Facebook and Google for the presence of illegal advertising on unauthorized platforms. Meta, under international pressure, subsequently updated its restrictive regulations on Facebook and Instagram.

The new draft law aims to harmonize Romanian legislation with that of several EU countries, such as Finland, which have introduced specific protections for minors against untargeted advertising. The model also provides for mandatory warnings about the risks of gambling, similar to those required for alcohol and tobacco.