Timișoara’s local council has unanimously approved a ban on new gambling halls in the Romanian city, with existing venues set to close as their licences expire by 2027, Mayor Dominic Fritz said.
“This decision is now official: gambling halls can no longer be authorised in Timișoara,” Fritz said in a post on Facebook, adding that the council had approved a complete ban unanimously.
Existing gambling halls will not be eligible for new authorisations and will be allowed to operate only until their current licences expire. There were 173 authorised gambling venues in the city earlier this spring, according to local media reports.
Romania’s National Lottery outlets will be allowed to continue operating and will be the only gambling-related venues exempt from the city’s ban.
The move follows a decision by the Romanian government earlier this year to transfer responsibility for gambling licensing to local authorities, giving councils the power to approve or reject new venues and to impose broader restrictions on gambling.
Romania also introduced restrictions in 2024, including a ban on slot halls in towns with fewer than 15,000 residents, as well as tighter zoning and advertising rules.
The number of slot machines in Romania has since fallen by more than half to 36,000 from 80,000.
The president of the Timis County Council said in April that funds freed up from overseeing gambling halls could be redirected to education infrastructure, including building new schools and modernising kindergartens.
Romania’s land-based gaming market was worth about €1.67 billion ($1.95 billion) annually in 2025, accounting for about one-third of the country’s total gambling market, according to H2 Gambling Capital.