The Romanian government is looking to take a hard stance against gambling advertisements with a set of new regulations that would ban them from the airwaves entirely. It’s a move that could have a major impact on television and radio, but won’t impact online advertising.
As of this writing, Romanian lawmakers are considering a set of draft laws that would amend a set of laws that govern audio/visual communications.
Under the proposed rule changes, audio/visual advertising for gambling products would be banned entirely from Romanian airwaves and publications. The closest thing to an exception is that operators would be allowed to advertise on their own premises and in specialty, gambling publications, according to a report on Lexology.com.
There is, however, a gaping hole in the proposed legislation that may serve to significantly mitigate its overall impact. Nowhere in the proposed legislation is internet advertising mentioned at all. That means the Romanian gambling industry would be operating with a pretty significant loophole.
At this point it seems unclear as to whether the online exception will remain, but it appears that it is too late in the legislative process for lawmakers to make significant changes to the bill.
It’s worth noting that regulated online gambling is still a relatively new phenomenon in Romania. The industry has only been legal in the country for two years. That said, it’s pretty clear that if the regulators don’t close the internet advertising loophole, the Romanian internet will be completely deluged with casino advertising.