The Capacity to Act of the Gambling Addicts. Possible Solutions. Case Study, Romania

https://doi.org/10.63189/RWNX2105

Based on an affirmation of a specialist - made in 2023 -, in Romania officially are approximately 100.000 gambling addicts.[1] If we want to estimate the real number of those persons who are addicted to gambling, it can be more than 10 times bigger. A representative of the Romanian National Bank stated that in 2024, the largest share of all online payments in Romania was related to betting and online casinos.[2]  Just to present the magnitude of the Romanian gambling activity: in 2023 Romania contributed with 3,1% on the total online gambling activity, worldwide; taking into account that Romania has 19 million inhabitants, so it constitutes approximately 0,24% of the global population; in 2023the Romanian GDP constituted 0,33% of the global GDP.[3] This suggests an overrepresentation of Romania in gambling-related activities. The gambling disorder is a recognized mental disorder by the modern medicine, that affects a huge number of people worldwide.[4] The first step to find a solution should be on prevention: inclusive Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 – the legal act which regulates the gambling activity in Romania – in Article 10 paragraph (51) has a provision which emphasizes that a part of the revenues of the National Gambling Office  shall be used „on prevention of gambling addiction, for activities and programs for the protection of minors or other socially and economically vulnerable groups against gambling, prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, for advertising and publicity on the prevention of gambling addiction and promotion of responsible gambling, the implementation of IT infrastructure - hardware and software, which will include the database developed at national level for the purpose of combating and preventing gambling addiction related to self-excluded and undesirable persons, a communication line of telverde type”.[5] More precisely, the responsibility to do a campaign against the gambling addiction and the prevention of gambling addiction is of the Romanian state’s. But how could we demand from the Romanian state to make a real campaign against the gambling addiction when the State budget receives annually 70% of the contributions (taxes) paid by the gambling operators to the Official Gambling Authority, so a colossal amount of money every year.

            If we want to find a proper solution for the Romanian gambling addicts, we can go back to the past, to see how were protected in the interwar period the prodigals (spendthrifts). The old Romanian civil Code, in Article 458 regulated the institution of judicial counseling, regarding prodigals: „It may stop prodigals from pleading, transacting, borrowing, receiving a capital and giving a bill of receipt, and from encumbering and mortgaging their estates, without the assistance of the judicial counseling ordained by the court. Such stop shall be published.” The scope of this provision is to stop the prodigal to conclude a group of legal acts which can be damaging for his or her wealth without the consent of his counselor. These provisions had the consequence to limit the capacity to act of the prodigals, meaning that the prodigals were not able to conclude a limited category of legal acts expressly mentioned in the decision of the Court (e.g. sale, encumbrance, loan etc.). In the past, the solution was to restrict the capacity to act of the prodigals – today a gambling addicted person would find him- or herself in the category of prodigals – so, without their acceptance. We could put the question if in 2025, this solution would be plausible?

            Before answering the question, let’s see the current regulation: by Government Emergency Ordinance No 82 of 2023 the previous Government Emergency Ordinance was modified. Related to our topic, the most important modification was the possibility of the gambling addicted people to self-exclude themselves. Article 151: „(1)Gambling organizers are obliged not to allow access to the premises where gambling activities are carried out to self-excluded and undesirable persons who are included in the database on self-excluded and undesirable persons, created, managed and permanently updated by the National Gambling Office, database to which gambling organizers have real-time access.

(2)Applications for self-exclusion may be submitted to the National Gambling Office or to the gambling organizers.

Gambling organizers are obliged to submit to the National Gambling Office the requests for self-exclusion, within two working days from the date of registration, and the lists containing the persons who, by internal decisions of the organizers, have been declared as undesirable, together with the reasons for this measure, within 5 working days from the date of the drawing up or modification.” Although this modification was realized by Government Emergency Ordinance No 82 of 2023, the planned database to monitor the self-excluded persons is still missing, because it wasn’t finalized in more than 18 months. Apparently, the Legislator was aware that it wouldn’t be easy to create such a database, and by Article IV of Government Emergency Ordinance No 82 of 2023, covered his own responsibility in case of self-excluded persons stating that, until the database will be operable - what shouldn’t be later than 31.03.2024 -, the gambling organizers are obliged not to allow the self-excluded persons to the venues where gambling activities are carried out. So far, the database wasn’t created/finalized, so in case of self-excluded people, the entrance can be refused based on their written application. Based on empirical research of some Romanian journalists, this measure doesn’t really work. The motives invoked by the Chief of the National Gambling Authority is simple: the self-exclusion measure is not digitalized and because of the huge number of the applications – more than 11.500 between June 2024 and January 2025, in total 14.000 – a considerable part of the applications wasn’t validated yet.[6]

            Another argument is that a part of the gambling organizers is not respecting the legal provisions set out in Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 Article 151 paragraph (1): they are taking advantages of the vulnerability of the gambling addicted people, and some organizers are letting them play, although they are on the lists of self-excluded (prohibited people).

This means that, the current protective measure which seeks to protect the gambling addicted people doesn’t work. However, is not easy to reform a system, where the declared aim of the Legislator is to have as much revenues as possible, to be able to replenish the state-budget and to reduce the budgetary deficit[7], because the protection of the self-excluded people would lower the taxes paid by the gambling organizers in the State budget.

In the last period of time, the abovementioned phenomenon became that notorious, that in 2025 more legislative amendments were initiated by a group of MPs. The first one – L63/2025 – seeks to restrict the areas where an amusement arcade can function legally.[8] The concerned MPs want to introduce a new provision to Article 15 paragraph (2) of Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009: to obtain a gambling license, the gambling organizer would be obliged to prove that the proposed place to establish an amusement arcade is not situated at the ground floor of a residential building. The main argument is the increased number of gambling addicted persons, and the fact that these people are mainly young people and from other vulnerable categories. This restriction would encumber to open new places in a densely populated area.

The second proposal – L93 of 2025 – seeks to limit the monthly payments to the gambling operators.[9] The account holder could pay maximum 10% of his monthly incomes to gambling organizers, irrespective of the modality of the payment. The fines for the breach of the proposed provisions are huge: from 200.000 to 500.000 lei and in case of second offence license cancellation as well for the gambling operators if the activity is carried out in the amusement arcade; and fine up to 1% of the annual turnover of the financial-banking institution, because if the activity is taking place online, the responsibility to verify if the account holder is still eligible to play is of the banking institutions.

The third proposed amendment would facilitate and would make more efficient the self-exclusion.[10] If it would become applicable, the self-exclusion could be made in person and online as well and not only at the Official Gambling Authority, but at every gambling organizer. If implemented, self-exclusion could be carried out both in person and online, not only through the Official Gambling Authority but also directly with each gambling operator. The second part of this amendment would ensure a high level of protection for the gambling addicted persons, because the proposed text is as follows: „players who provide proof of self-exclusion are entitled to a refund of any amounts wagered during the self-exclusion period, upon request to the operator. The refund must be processed within 48 hours, either in person at any of the operator’s locations or online.” So, practically if the gambling operator tries to avoid the legal provisions and to let self-excluded gambling addicts to play in the amusement arcades, those people would be entitled to receive back the spent amount. In this case, the interest of the gambling organizers would be considerable diminished. The modification would affect Article 22 as well, because beside the current fine (between 50.000 and 100.000 lei), the misdemeanor gambling operator would hazard its gambling license for 6 months.

The fourth legislative amendment wants to link the activity of an amusement arcade to the approval of the local authorities of that locality.[11] The permission can be given by the competent public administrative authority with the issuance of an individual administrative act to the concerned gambling operator regarding the opening of a new location. Currently the local public authorities (e.g. local councils, mayors) are unable to limit the number of amusement arcades within the territorial radius of that locality.

            Taking into account these legislative amendment proposals registered in the Romanian upper house (Senate), if all four are going to be approved by both houses and promulgated by the President, the gambling activity will be significantly reduced in Romania. To achieve the sought protection for the gambling addicted persons – beside others –, the whole gambling industry’s cooperation is necessary. The decrease of the gambling activity certainly would affect the state budget, because 70% of the total contributions paid by the gambling operators to the National Gambling Authority goes into the state budget, but this would be just the inherent bad for the higher good and the Romanian state should sacrifice for the citizens living standard.

            At the same time, it is salient to analyze the capacity to act of the gambling addicted people. As it was already mentioned, under the old Romanian civil Code, the capacity to act of those persons who had a wasteful lifestyle was susceptible to restrictions. They were prohibited to conclude major civil legal acts such as contracts of sale, encumbrance, loan etc. without the assistance of their guardian. Although such a wide variety of gambling games did not exist 100 years ago, there are strong similarities between the term „prodigal” used in the interwar period to describe people with wasteful behavior, and the way we refer to individuals with gambling addictions today. In today’s Romania the necessity of a protective measure for gambling addicts is clear, however the solution used under the old Romanian civil Code nowadays would not work. In the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – an UN document signed and ratified by Romania – was stated that the foreign interfere in the disabled persons civil capacity should be as minimal as possible.[12] That means that a protective measure disposed by the Court without the acceptance of the gambling addicted person would raise problem of human dignity and other fundamental rights. For this reason, in order to be protected, individuals struggling with gambling addiction must acknowledge their condition and actively request self-exclusion, as previously outlined. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the Romanian state to provide a functional legal framework that supports those who recognize their vulnerabilities and seek the available protective measures.

[1] Dependența de jocuri de noroc. Aproximativ 100.000 de români au nevoie de consiliere de specialite, Euronews România, 24.05.2023, https://www.euronews.ro/articole/dependenta-de-jocuri-de-noroc-aproximativ-100-000-de-romani-au-nevoie-de-consilie.

[2] Alexandra Nistoroiu, Răzvan Luțac: Peste 14.000 de români au făcut cereri de autoexcludere la jocurile de noroc, confirm ONJN. Ce face statul, concret? Snoop.ro, https://snoop.ro/peste-14-000-de-romani-au-facut-cereri-de-autoexcludere-la-jocurile-de-noroc-confirma-onjn-ce-face-statul-concret/.

[3] Ibidem.

[4] What is Gambling Disorder? https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder.

[5] Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 on the organization and operation of gambling

[6] Alexandra Nistoroiu, Răzvan Luțac: ...

[7] Government Emergency Ordinance No 82 of 2023 for amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 on the organization and operation of gambling games, as well as for amending Government Emergency Ordinance No 20 of 2013 on the establishment, organization and functioning of the National Gambling Office and for amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009. Preamble.

[8] L63 of 2025 legislative proposal for the completion of Article 15 paragraph. (2) of the of Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 on the organization of the operation of gambling.

[9] L93 of 2025 on legislative proposal on limiting payments to gambling operators.

[10] L94 of 2025 on amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 on the organization and exploitation of gambling games.

[11] L126 of 2025 for amending and supplementing Article 15 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 77 of 2009 on the organization and exploitation of gambling activities.

[12] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, published in Romanian Official Gazette no. 792 from 26th of November 2010.