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. Raluca Turcan from the National Liberal Party (NLP) was the author of the proposal to reset Romania’s gambling age to 21 as a response to
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.
Raluca Turcan from the National Liberal Party (NLP) was the author of the proposal to reset Romania’s gambling age to 21 as a response to a report by NGO Save the Children, where Romania was ranked with the highest rate of youth problem gambling in Europe.
Turcan commented:
“Thank you to my fellow senators! I am glad that my initiative has been supported by parliamentarians from all the governing parties, USR, PSD, and UDMR, who understand that the protection of young people must be above any political dispute. The profit of the gambling industry cannot be built on the vulnerability of children and young people.”
The bill will now move to the Chamber of Deputies for a final reading and will be signed into law by President Nicușor Dan.
An additional bill introduced by the Save Romania Union (USR), which proposed to ban all gambling advertising between 6 am and 12 am across all communication channels, was also approved by the Senate.
After the high-profile regulatory fallout in 2025, Romania’s National Gambling Office is still being criticized for the failed audits of gambling licenses and is in urgent need of reforms.