At the close of 2025, the Senate of Romania authorised a series of legislative proposals to permit marketing reforms to be reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies and associate committees.
The decision was authorised to permit Parliament to settle on new advertising rules/legislation by early 2026. A fractious issue in which the Senate has received large range proposals from numerous parties.
Among the key steps under conversation are the restriction of street-level gaming marketing, more stringent time-based restrictions on online and broadcast promotions, and the positioning of betting marketing standards with broader consumer-protection and digital-media laws.
The Chamber of Deputies will take on deliberations, with disputes anticipated to resume once the next parliamentary sessions open in February. The reforms are viewed as the very first stage of a broader overhaul of Romania's Law on Games of Chance, a regulatory structure that has come under installing scrutiny following a series of prominent governance failures in 2025.
Proposed steps include raising the nationwide gambling age from 18 to 21, sent by the Liberal Party under a legislative required titled "Protecting the Age of Innocence."
Elsewhere, union member Save Romania Union (USR) has actually endorsed an extensive package of changes calling for a ban on untargeted marketing and sports sponsorships, alongside restrictions on online betting promos between 06:00 and 00:00.
The USR continues to promote for the complete overhaul of the sector, consisting of the dismantling of ONJN, the National Gambling Office of Romania, following what it refers to as "systemic governance and auditing failures that have lost all trust in the regulator".
Additional propositions concentrate on presenting local-authority approvals for gambling licences and harmonising the nationwide self-exclusion system across online and land-based venues, a directive that ONJN intends to finish by the first half of 2026.
The ONJN maintains its position as Romania's central regulative authority for gambling. Recently, President Vlad Soare released a programme and open letter describing ONJN's crucial goals for 2026, prioritising the increased enforcement of existing laws and the modernisation of core regulatory systems.
Soare highlighted that the regulator had actually made significant progress in improving openness and responsibility in 2025 however yielded that it stays unsure whether such procedures would alleviate political stress and anxieties around betting oversight.
Acknowledging the ongoing scrutiny, Soare restated his support for a thorough reform of Romania's gambling legislation, advising policymakers to team up on a "meaningful and efficient structure" to replace what he referred to as "an ethically outdated Gambling Law."
2026: Pivotal Moment
Cosmina Simion -WH Simion & Partners
Legal observers concur that the months ahead will be essential in shaping Romania's long-lasting betting policy. There is growing consensus that 2026 could mark a turning point in the modernisation of the marketplace.
However the government requires to decide on its regulatory principals/priorities as gambling licences demand a sense of stability and sustainability that has actually been ignored due to continual changes since 2018.
Discussing the advancements, Cosmina Simion, Managing Partner at WH Simion & Partners, stated: "Romania is getting in a stage of regulative combination in the gambling sector, including in relation to marketing guidelines. The Senate's decision on street and public advertising reflects a wider effort to strengthen the legal framework and introduce more procedures focused on gamer security.
