The Romanian coalition government is considering granting local governments more authority to regulate gambling venues, planning to allow city halls to independently decide whether to approve related business licenses, and set location and tax standards for venues. This reform, proposed by Minister of Public Development and Administration Cseke Attila, aims to give local communities the decision-making power on whether to introduce the gambling industry and benefit directly from it.
According to the proposal, local authorities can not only decide whether to allow the establishment of gambling venues but also set specific location restrictions and collect annual local gambling taxes, with the tax rate entirely determined by the localities, and the funds obtained do not need to be submitted to the central government. Attila stated: "Local communities should have the right to decide whether to allow gambling—if allowed, they should benefit directly from it."
This proposal was put forward after the previous government banned the establishment of gambling venues in small towns and rural areas in April 2024, as part of the current ruling coalition's policy to narrow the urban-rural gap and encourage local revenue generation. The government hopes to encourage regions to explore legal and compliant sources of income through empowerment measures.
However, this move has also sparked controversy in the political arena. The opposition party USR (Save Romania Union) continues to call for a comprehensive reform of the gambling industry, including replacing the national gambling regulatory agency ONJN, and promoting stricter player protection measures, such as limiting personal gambling expenses to 10% of income, to be supervised by the tax authority ANAF.
Audit institutions had previously inspected ONJN and found significant deficiencies in its regulation, including the failure to implement the legally required remote monitoring of online gambling systems, resulting in unverifiable transaction data. There are also loopholes in the collection of gambling taxes and licensing fees.
Currently, the Romanian government is simultaneously advancing broader gambling regulatory reforms, including introducing a self-exclusion system, and banning celebrities from endorsing gambling advertisements on television, radio, and online platforms. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance is also consulting on the progressive taxation of player winnings.
This series of measures shows the government's attempt to balance empowerment and risk control, striving to respect local autonomy while strengthening the overall governance of the gambling industry.
