The Timișoara local council has reached a unanimous decision to ban the establishment of new gambling halls within the city. Mayor Dominic Fritz announced the new policy on Tuesday, confirming that existing venues will only be allowed to operate until their current licenses run out, leading to expected closures by 2027. Mayor Fritz made the announcement on Facebook, stating, "This decision is now official: gambling halls can no longer be authorised in Timișoara."
Despite this new restriction, lottery services operated by Romania’s National Lottery will continue to function, remaining the sole form of gambling permitted in the city. As of earlier this spring, there were 173 authorized gambling establishments, which will gradually shut down as their licenses, regulated from Bucharest, expire over the next few years.
Local authorities now have the power to influence gambling operations significantly. Local media reported that the president of the Timis County Council indicated that the revenues released from the oversight of gambling halls would be reinvested into educational infrastructure, including the construction of new schools and upgrades to kindergartens.
This decision aligns with a recent move by the Romanian government to grant local authorities the responsibility of licensing for gambling operations, allowing them to either permit or ban new gambling venues. Earlier in 2024, the government banned slot halls in towns with fewer than 15,000 residents and imposed strict zoning and advertising regulations on gambling establishments.
The number of slot machines across Romania has diminished significantly, dropping from 80,000 to just 36,000. In 2025, the annual revenue from brick-and-mortar gaming was recorded at approximately €1.67 billion, representing about a third of the overall market, according to H2 Gambling Capital's data.
