Romania bans casinos in villages and small towns

Politicians in Romania want to take tougher action against illegal gambling and decided around a fortnight ago to introduce a comprehensive ban on gaming arcades in villages and small towns. Specifically, in future it will be illegal to operate a stationary gaming centre in villages and towns with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants. But how will the "gaming centre ban" in rural areas help to combat illegal gambling?

It was only around two months ago that we at GambleJoe reported on the strict ban on slot machines in the Czech capital of Prague, which has been in force since January. Now the lower house of the Romanian parliament is following suit and banning the operation of land-based gaming arcades in small towns and villages. The first reputable gambling companies have already spoken out, complaining about the draft law and in some cases questioning its sense. However, there is a consensus that illegal gambling in Romania must be combated.

Does the 15,000 population limit make sense?

According to the new law, casinos in Romania are only prohibited if the population of the respective city is less than 15,000. The opposition leader of the Romanian USR party, Inonut Mosteanu, questions whether such an arbitrary limit actually makes sense in practice. He asked the government politicians why they had not agreed on 16,000, 17,000 or even two million inhabitants instead.

The fact is that there are several well-known casinos in the few major cities in Romania. These include, for example, the Platinum Casino Bucharest and the Fortuna Palace Casino. However, as these casinos are located in the metropolis of Bucharest, they are of course not affected by the rural ban on casinos.

How widespread is illegal gambling in Romania?

In Romania, gambling is only permitted if a licence has been issued by the state regulatory authority "Oficiul National pentru Jocuri de Noroc". In the past, there has been an increase in cases of illegal gambling, particularly in rural areas. In another context, we at GambleJoe have already asked ourselves whether or not a general ban on gambling advertising makes sense.

Conclusion

In Romania, gaming arcades in villages and small towns will be banned by law in future. It will be interesting to see whether the village "gaming centre ban" will lead to an effective fight against illegal gambling. It is certainly conceivable that such a ban will only further fuel the illegal market.

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