“ARTIFICIAL” INTELLIGENCE AND GAMBLING IN ROMANIA
By Av. Prof. Habil. Marius PANTEA, PhD
After „Great Revolution … of October”, the Romanian Parliament fails to deign and punishes again the traditional gambling industry. On the whole, the entire gambling industry in our country is regarded as a “pamphlet” and treated as such by the bigwigs of the day.
What is the connection between “grey eminence”, “artificial” intelligence and gambling? The Chamber of Deputies, through its leader, managed to pass through the Caudian forks, quickly, a law approving the now famous GEO 82/ 2023, on which occasion it sprinkled a few drops of hemlock in the legislative package, which already was ambiguous, unenforceable and even disastrous in places.
The despair that has gripped the elected representatives of the nation – their 4 years in office are coming to an end, during which they have not achieved much – is obvious, and the hobbyhorse – gambling – is a subject that is only good for competing with each other in taking the bull by the horns and curbing the addiction that is eating away at the people. With no study, no research, no official document to back up the determination to “defeat the gambling industry”, the “grey eminence” at the head of the Chamber manages to pass the bill in question by a large majority (almost unanimously) in record time. The dance at the bar, performed in front of the cameras, seems to remind us of the famous 100 lei pay rise, in the hope that the Romanian voter, declared by them to be a gambling addict (because this is the only way the elected representatives justify the war they are waging – they want to eradicate the “slots” – the supreme evil that is eating away at Romanian society), is in bad taste and manages to impress only those who allow themselves to be manipulated and to create the impression of better (we know that better is actually the enemy of good).
Up to this point, there has been no attempt to establish the level of addiction to gambling among the population of this country. Of all the types of addiction that really have a negative social impact, and we list here: drug use, alcoholism, smoking, video games (which represent a real danger for minors and young people), and which are confirmed by studies and research, the alliance that leads our destinies (in unison with the united opposition) has made the suppression of slot machines its main electoral target.
The “artificial” intelligence of those temporarily in charge of this nation fails to identify the solution to “eliminate” traditional gambling, but at the same time to collect a large amount of money: to the state budget (license fees, permits, etc.). ), for advertising and publicity (since we can’t mess with the press in the run-up to the elections – and the money from publicity is plentiful and welcome), rents (important income for local budgets), salaries, etc. as poor Caragiale would say: “If you allow me, we need to decide one or the other: in conclusion, either we are going to revise this decision completely, I agree! But then nothing must change. Or else we don’t revise it, I agree, but then we should make a few changes here and there, in the essential… parts”.
The other day, they appointed to the head of ONJN, on political criteria (as all appointments are made in the Romanian state) a person who is only guilty of having accepted an appointment to such a position – undersecretary of state – in a field he does not know, and then relieved him of his position under pressure from the press. Laughably, because it’s not the first time this has happened, the vice-president appointed for 2 days, and previously a president was appointed for 4 days. The criteria for choosing the people and the reasons for the removal from office were only political, because one had no knowledge of the field and the other was disturbing certain interests.
The fact that the almost 2 billion euros that the gambling industry pays annually in various forms to the state budget cannot be replaced for the time being (given the enormous deficit that the government is hiding under the carpet), but the intention is to annihilate the gambling industry from the economy, without taking into account the inevitable risks of such a measure, proves once again, if it were needed, the paradigm in which the political class is, or as the Romanian would say “with … and with money taken”.
The fact that only in the last 3 years, the coalition that claims to be the saviour of the nation, has changed the taxes in this industry (from 20,000 euros – the slot machine license to 75,000 euros, and then to 150,000 euros/year, the authorizations, the guarantees of 1 to 7 million euros, the contribution to a fund from which not a penny has been spent on preventing and fighting addiction, administrative fees, etc.) is proof of the inconsistency and mismanagement of this sector. Surely no industry in our country has ever been treated with such contempt and such visceral hatred. The losses generated by these measures are already visible (illegal gambling including on unlicensed sites, many and difficult to control, lower amounts collected to the budget, etc.) and the discriminatory treatment, compared to any other industry, will generate damage both socially (unemployment, uncontrolled addiction and even among minors, etc.) and economically (increased deficit, lower amounts collected to the state budget, etc.).
The way in which political decision-makers deal with gambling-related problems places us on the periphery of the Western world, and the determination to destroy this industry, without any attempt to put it back on a more natural footing, through clear regulations and by educating the population, leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of both those belonging to the industry and the players. They do not take into account the specificity of this people, Romanians are joyful people, who have fun, who play everything from backgammon or other dice games, to card games (whist, rentz, canasta, bridge, septet, tabinet, macao, poker, etc.), lotto and bingo games (in the hall or televised) which have been very popular over the years and which have allowed us to get through the vicissitudes of time more easily, making fun of trouble. It is not taken into account that chaotic over-regulation and over-taxation will push players and therefore large sums of money into the grey and black area, and the state will no longer receive the taxes and duties due and will not be able to control this social phenomenon, a situation which will implicitly generate even greater addiction.
Av. Prof. Habil. Marius PANTEA, PhD
The participation of minors in gambling has been STRICTLY FORBIDDEN and severely sanctioned by the legislation since 2015 (heavy fines are applied, and the locations and sites are punished with the closure of the activity for up to 6 months – the operator being obliged to pay the authorization fees during this period), and with the measures taken by the government in the last period this activity will migrate to the illegal area, without the possibility of sanctioning when minors access or enter gambling. In this way, it will practically no longer be possible to control and penalise the operator, and children and young people will be able to access these types of gambling without any problems, and addiction will then become a real social problem in our country – a phenomenon which the state will get out of control, as has happened with the use of drugs and ethnobotanical substances.
In conclusion, the imaginary war of some people with slot machines is just an electoral, unfounded, ungrounded and artificial reason, while the basic problem remains the same, there are no measures to educate citizens to understand that gambling is just a fun activity, not a way to get rich overnight, that there is still no person to beat the slot machine, that gambling is based on pure mathematics (probabilistic), that for operators exploitation is a business that must generate profit. At the same time, perhaps it is time for those in the industry to return to less aggressive practices (no advertising) to become less visible (no excessive lighting of the locations) and to stop displaying opulence – these we believe are the reasons that have generated so much adversity in the Romanian public space.
