Romania bans anyone under 18 from gambling. Art. 7 of OUG 77/2009 defines a gambling participant as an adult natural person who wants to play and is legally able to, and art. 7(3) bars minors from gambling venues and from every type of gambling. The licensed operator carries the duty to enforce the ban, in the hall and online, and ONJN treats a breach as a licensing matter, not only a civil one.
This post was first published in August 2020, after ONJN issued a recommendation on how online operators should handle accounts opened by minors. We have kept that analysis and added what applies in 2026. For the wider licensing picture, see our Romania gambling license guide.
Who counts as a participant
Art. 7(1) OUG 77/2009 sets three conditions for participation:
- the person is a natural person who has reached majority (18 under the Romanian Civil Code);
- the person wants to take part in an authorized game; and
- the person has the legal right to do so.
Taking part means accepting the rules of that game without conditions. A minor fails the first test, so a minor cannot be a participant at all. That point matters for the money question discussed below.
What operators must do
The methodological norms to the ordinance (HG 111/2016) require licensed organizers to prevent minors from entering specialized venues and from using gaming machines or the IT systems through which remote gambling is offered. Operators may ask for an identity document to confirm a person’s right to play, and each operator must set its own internal measures to make the ban effective.
Land-based venues
In 2020 we noted that age checks in slot halls and betting shops often relied on staff judgment: staff asked for ID when someone looked young. ONJN sanctioned operators on the basis of those judgments, and the sanctions included fines and suspension of activity. Our view then was that most operators complied and that access by minors was limited.
The picture in 2026 is stricter. ONJN’s unannounced night inspections of September 2025 checked three things at once: self-exclusion compliance, the presence of minors, and illegal gaming devices. The office reported more than 5,000 inspection acts, 28 licenses revoked and over RON 4 million in sanctions in the first five months under its new leadership. A hall that cannot show a working ID check at the door is now an easy target.
Online platforms
Online operators must not let minors open gambling accounts and must state the ban clearly on the site. In 2020 the rules allowed limited play before identity verification was complete, so an operator usually learned that a player was a minor only when the documents confirming the registration data arrived. At that point the account had to be closed.
Today, the customer due diligence duties under Law 129/2019 and the KYC provisions of HG 111/2016 push verification to the start of the relationship. Operators that verify identity at registration rarely face the minor-account problem at all.
What happens to a minor’s money
This was the question ONJN answered in 2020, and it is still the one operators get wrong.
The civil-law argument: refund
A minor lacks full legal capacity. Acts concluded by a person without capacity are void, and absolute nullity restores the parties to their previous position. On that reasoning, the operator should return the deposits.
The regulatory answer: withhold and transfer
ONJN took a different line. A minor’s participation breaches art. 7(3) OUG 77/2009, so the operator should close the account under the norms, withhold the funds in it and transfer them to the state budget. The aim is deterrence: if a minor (or an adult who lent their identity to one) can always get the money back, the ban costs nothing to ignore.
For an operator, the practical rule is to follow the ONJN position, document the decision, and keep the evidence of how the minor was detected. Refunding against ONJN’s recommendation exposes the license; withholding in line with it does not.
Three cases operators meet in practice
A minor registers with false data. The documents uploaded at verification show a date of birth under 18. The account is closed, the balance is withheld and transferred to the state budget, and the case is logged with the documents that revealed it.
A minor plays on a parent’s verified account. Here the account holder is an adult, so the account itself is valid. The operator should still act when behavior, device data or a complaint shows that a minor is playing: suspend the account, ask the holder to explain, and close it if the explanation does not hold. Account sharing breaches the operator’s terms and, in substance, the art. 7(3) ban. Responsible-gambling monitoring under the operator’s internal rules is usually what catches it.
A minor enters a slot hall with a borrowed ID. The operator’s defense is the quality of its check: was the ID inspected against the person, was the refusal policy followed, is there CCTV and a log. ONJN inspectors look at the procedure, not only at the outcome. An operator that can show a consistent, documented check is in a far stronger position than one that relies on staff impressions.
In each case the decision should be taken by the compliance function, not by front-line staff alone, and the file should be kept for the retention period that applies to KYC records.
What applies now (2026)
The age is still 18. In February 2026 the Senate adopted two bills sponsored by Raluca Turcan: one raising the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21, the other restricting online gambling advertising during the day. As of 7 September 2026 both were still pending before the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making chamber. Until a law is adopted, promulgated and published in Monitorul Oficial, 18 remains the threshold. We follow the bill in Romania turns the screw on gambling: age 21 and an online ad blackout.
Minors may not enter halls, even without playing. In February 2025 ONJN denied reports that it was considering letting minors into gambling halls. It confirmed that the art. 7(3) ban is firm and unchanged, and that self-exclusion under art. 15^1 OUG 77/2009 is a separate adult regime.
Advertising rules now protect minors too. Law 107/2024 (approving OUG 82/2023) restricted outdoor and online gambling advertising, and the Audiovisual Code as amended by CNA Decision 573/2025 limits broadcast gambling advertising and bars public figures and influencers from it since October 2025. Operators should treat any campaign that reaches under-18 audiences as a compliance risk.
Self-exclusion is enforced alongside the minors ban. ONJN Order 79/2025 set the procedure for the national self-exclusion database. Inspectors now check both regimes in the same visit; the practical consequences are covered in self-exclusion breaches in Romania.
Local authorities now matter for land-based venues. Since OUG 7/2026, a gambling hall also needs a local operating authorization, and local councils can restrict or ban gambling in their area. Several councils cite the protection of young people when proposing bans.
A short compliance checklist
- Verify age and identity at account opening, not at first withdrawal.
- In venues, check ID at the entrance for anyone who may be under 25, and log refusals.
- Train staff and keep training records; ONJN asks for them during inspections.
- Keep a written procedure for minor accounts: close, withhold, transfer, document.
- Review marketing for content, placement and timing that could reach minors.
- Prepare now for an age-21 threshold: KYC rules and venue checks that read a date of birth can be switched quickly.
Our compliance and representation services cover internal rules, staff training and ONJN inspection support for Class 1 operators, and the Class 1 license page sets out the full operator regime.
