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Romanian lawmakers have introduced new legislative proposals aimed at tightening gambling access and advertising rules, particularly to protect young people. The bills, submitted by MPs Raluca Turcan (PNL) and Diana Stoica (USR), would raise the minimum legal gambling age from 18 to 21 and restrict online gambling advertising between 06:00 and 24:00.

Under the proposals, individuals under the age of 21 would be prohibited from participating in gambling activities, while gambling ads would be banned across online platforms during daytime hours. The legislation also seeks to outlaw the use of influencers, athletes and public figures in gambling promotions.

Protecting young audiences

“We have an obligation to protect our children from the threat of gambling,” said USR deputy Diana Stoica, citing studies showing early exposure to slot machines and online betting among Romanian minors. According to Stoica, brain development, particularly in areas linked to impulse control and decision-making, continues until around the age of 21, making younger individuals more vulnerable to gambling addiction.

“One in four adolescents has played on these so-called ‘machines of death’ before turning 18,” she added, arguing that the legislation is a necessary step to reduce risks.

Aligning with European trends

PNL deputy Raluca Turcan called the proposed age increase a “simple change with deep effects,” noting that countries including Portugal, Greece and Moldova have adopted similar measures. She highlighted that individuals aged 18 to 21 often face increased financial pressure and impulsivity as they enter adulthood, making them a key target group for gambling marketing.

“By raising the age threshold, we protect young people during a vulnerable stage,” Turcan stated, referencing international examples where similar policies reportedly reduced early-age indebtedness and problem gambling cases.

Tighter ad rules and warning messages

The draft legislation further proposes:

• A complete ban on online gambling advertising between 06:00 and 24:00

• A ban on influencer and public-figure participation in gambling promotions

• Mandatory visible harm-prevention warnings across digital and physical gambling environments, modeled after tobacco and alcohol regulation

The measures would amend Romania’s existing legal framework under Emergency Ordinance 77/2009.

What comes next

The bills will now proceed through the legislative process, including debate and committee review. If adopted, the changes would introduce some of the most restrictive gambling-advertising and access rules in the region.

The initiatives reflect an ongoing trend across Europe, where regulators are increasing focus on consumer protection, youth safeguards, and advertising limitations in the gambling sector.

The post Romania Proposes Raising Gambling Age to 21 and Restricting Online Advertising appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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AskGamblers Casino Complaint Service (AGCCS) has a successful Q3 in 2025, helping players recover over $2.8 million and exceeding last year’s numbers.

The Q3 2025 numbers are out, showcasing the results achieved by the AskGamblers Casino Complaint Service. The report highlights the most important accomplishments between 1 July and 30 September.

In the previous quarter, the AGCCS team helped 2807 users get their funds from online casinos and sportsbooks, returning $2,813,351 in total. The team received exactly 3881 complaints that affected 960 operators and affiliates.

Things aren’t always running smoothly. Even if a complaint gets rejected, the users walk out satisfied with the service they’ve received. One of AskGamblers’ players ended up receiving the money from the casino, even though their complaint was rejected initially:

“I just wanted to let you know that the funds have been successfully returned to my account. Thank you a thousand times – I’m certain that without your help, this wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.”

The AGCCS is actively working on sports betting complaints, too, returning $53,633 in Q3 to bettors all over the world. During this period, they’ve managed to break a record in the number of resolved complaints (1013).

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “Props to our AGCCS for doing an awesome job, staying at the forefront and being there for players. It’s a joy to see our users happy, wishing to send tips and buy us lunch. Even though we have to reject that (unfortunately), this just shows the commitment of our team to our players, which will continue in the future.”

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YouTube has announced that it will strengthen enforcement of its community guidelines on violent gaming and online gambling content, starting on 17 November.

“Starting on November 17th, 2025, we’ll be strengthening enforcement of our Community Guidelines around online gambling and graphic violence in gaming.

“Our policies are designed to evolve alongside the digital world. We’re making these updates to keep pace with new trends, like gambling with digital goods, and to more closely align our guidelines for mature content with industry standards.

Here’s a Summary of What’s Changing:

Online Gambling Content

“Our current policy prohibits content that directs viewers to online gambling sites or applications that are not certified by Google. We’re expanding our enforcement to now cover online gambling with additional items that have monetary value, including digital goods (e.g. video game skins, cosmetics and NFTs).”

Social Casino Content

“We’re updating our approach to casino-style games where nothing of real-world monetary value is wagered or cashed out. Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates social casino sites will now be age-restricted.”

Graphic Gaming Content

“In addition to our existing guidelines around graphic gaming content, we will age-restrict an additional small subset of video game content featuring realistic human characters that focuses on scenes of torture or scenes of mass violence against non-combatants. We’ll consider several factors when reviewing this type of content such as:

• Duration – If the graphic scene is sustained (rather than fleeting). For compilation videos, we’ll now consider the cumulative duration of all of the graphic clips combined.

• Prominence – If the violent imagery is zoomed-in or the main focus of the scene

• Realistic human characters – If the violence is happening to a character that looks like a real human.”

“We expect most channels will experience little to no impact but we know this is a lot of information, and we want to ensure you have time to adapt.

Existing videos. Content uploaded before November 17, 2025, that violates these guidelines may be removed or age-restricted, but will not result in a strike. Remember, age-restricted videos can stay on your channel for 18+ audiences.”

“Making edits: For creators who have content that’s in-scope of these updates, you may be able to edit your video description or use our video editor trim or blur tools to make any necessary changes before November 17, 2025.

Notifications: If we age-restrict or remove your content, we’ll notify you by email. If you disagree with the decision, you can always choose to appeal.”

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