Every one of the 98 local councils in Romania’s Iași county has voted against issuing new licences for land-based gaming halls, making Iași the first Romanian county to move toward a complete phase-out of slot venues. Councils are using powers granted to them earlier this year to refuse authorisation, and the last local licences in the county are expected to lapse by the end of February 2027.
The votes were made possible by Emergency Ordinance 7/2026, adopted in February, which gave Romania’s local councils the power to decide on the licensing of land-based slot venues in their own areas. Iași is the first county in which every individual council has used that power to say no to new permits.
How the ordinance works
Emergency Ordinance 7/2026 requires operators in areas where gambling is still permitted to secure annual authorisation from the local council, on top of their national licence. Councils that decline to grant that authorisation effectively close the door to new slot halls in their jurisdiction. The measure covers all land-based gambling except traditional lottery games run by the Romanian Lottery and licensed sports betting.
The county’s 98 councils have not all adopted identical policies. The specific terms vary by locality, and in most cases the restrictions are being phased in, with existing venues allowed to keep operating until their current licences expire. In some localities, though, venues could face closure sooner rather than at the end of their licence term.
From one commune to the whole county
The push began in the commune of Miroslava, spread to Iași municipality, and then gained traction across the county until every council had voted. Pașcani was the last to approve a prohibition, passing it after an earlier attempt failed to secure enough votes.
Civic organisations helped drive the momentum. The groups În Stradă and Declic collected more than 7,400 signatures from residents in support of the restrictions, according to reports in the Romanian daily Adevărul. Campaigners framed the measures as a way to protect children and teenagers from gambling advertising and to reduce the social and financial harm linked to slot halls.
“No new permits will be issued for gaming halls or for machines of this type,” said Paul Ciobanu, co-founder of În Stradă, in comments reported by Adevărul.
What it means for operators
For land-based operators, the county has become a closed market in slow motion. New venues cannot open, and existing ones are on a clock set by their licence expiry dates. The requirement for annual local sign-off means that even where gambling remains legal on paper, operators now depend on a council vote each year to keep their doors open, adding a layer of local political risk to the national licence held from the regulator.
The wider context is a Romanian market already under pressure. Romania has one of the larger regulated gambling sectors in central and eastern Europe, and land-based slots have been a significant part of it. The reach and structure of that market are set out in more detail in TGE’s profile of the Romania iGaming market. Emergency Ordinance 7/2026 hands the decision on retail slots to the local level, and Iași is the first county to use it to the fullest extent.
What happens next
The immediate question is whether other counties follow Iași’s lead. The ordinance applies nationwide, and campaign groups active in Iași operate across Romania, so the mechanism that produced a county-wide phase-out in one place is available everywhere. Operators will be watching how quickly the pattern spreads and whether national lawmakers move to standardise what is currently a patchwork of local decisions. In Iași itself, the next milestone is February 2027, when the last local gaming licences are due to run out.
Source: În Stradă
