The Timișoara local council has unanimously adopted a policy forbidding the authorization of new gambling halls throughout the city.
On Tuesday, Mayor Dominic Fritz announced this significant decision, indicating that current venues will only be allowed to remain operational until their existing licenses expire, with closures anticipated by next year.
“This decision is now official: gambling halls can no longer be authorised in Timișoara,” Mayor Fritz stated on Facebook. He emphasized that the council’s decision was unanimous in support of the ban.
Despite this prohibition, lottery services operated by Romania’s National Lottery will continue, remaining the sole permitted form of gambling in the area.
Currently, there are 173 authorized gambling venues in Timișoara, reported earlier this spring, which will gradually cease operations as their central licenses, regulated from Bucharest, expire; this is expected to occur by 2027.
As local media have reported, the president of the Timis County Council highlighted that the funds previously allocated for overseeing gambling halls will be redirected toward educational projects, such as modernizing schools and kindergartens.
This move follows a decision by the Romanian government earlier in the year to devolve the authority for gambling licensing to local officials. Under this new framework, councils have the power not only to approve new venues but also to impose outright bans on gambling within their jurisdictions.
Additionally, in 2024, the Romanian government mandated the closure of slot halls in towns with populations under 15,000 and implemented strict regulations regarding zoning and advertising.
The number of slot machines across the country has plummeted, reducing from 80,000 to 36,000.
In 2025, the brick-and-mortar gaming sector recorded revenues of approximately €1.67 billion annually, constituting about one-third of the overall market, according to H2 Gambling Capital data.
