Let’s bet on the legal changes

It seems that gambling continues to add fuel to the fire between various political sides. From hasty changes in running the Office, speculations about tax increases in 2023 and various bills, some latent, others “revived”, predictability and clarity are not the forte of public authorities or the reform proposals they put forward. Below, we reviewed the main legal bills which may influence the gambling area in the upcoming period, by implementing European directives or reforming the national framework.

Draft laws:

• The draft law on the database of self-excluded and undesirable persons[1] is under approval by the Chamber of Deputies, after it has tacitly passed the Senate in September 2020.

The proposed regulation will require gambling organizers to: (i) identify persons entering premises where gambling is organized and operated; (ii) keep electronic records of their personal identification data; and (iii) compile, in an electronic form, databases on self-excluded and undesirable persons.

A brief statement of reasons justifies the alleged need for the changes, mainly arguing that: (i) gambling addiction is a pathological disorder; and that (ii) it would be for the general interest to prevent the access of undesirable persons based on their request for self-exclusion. Yet, it is unclear how the database will achieve the purposes envisaged by the draft law or how it will reconcile with the requirements on personal data protection, especially since the proposed regulation fails to provide a straightforward operation mechanism.

• The draft law by which the providers of video sharing platforms are to comply with the requirements of the audiovisual legislation was sent for promulgation to the President of Romania on 10 June 2022. We expect the new regulation to enter into force in the upcoming period.

The bill announces an increase in the protection of minors and management of illegal content. Among other things, the “digital” media will be subject to a legal ban on broadcasting programs that may affect the physical, mental or moral development of minors. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the commercial processing of personal data of minors and the creation of profiles.

Advertising in the area of gambling will be subject to the new regulations, when it is transmitted through online platforms, the prerogatives of the CNA (ie the National Audiovisual Council) on supervision and sanction being extended. We wrote about this topic in a previous article published in no. 122/2022 of the magazine.

Legislative amendments in related areas

• On 28 May 2022, GEO no. 58 of 28 April 2022 for the amendment and completion of some normative acts in the area of consumer protection entered into force. The normative act implements the Omnibus Directive[2] which redefines the standards on consumer protection, inter alia by:
• the explicit inclusion of digital services and digital content in the notion of “product”, alongside defining the online market so as to include websites, in full or part, as well as apps;
• extending the information obligations that the trader has in relation to the consumer, especially in the area of online markets;
• significantly harder sanctions for traders in case of national infringements. Fines increase for most infringements, while repeated violations or acts of a certain severity (for example, affecting more than 100 consumers) are severely penalized;
• setting a different sanctioning regime for transnational infringements. The fine may amount to up to 4% of the annual turnover registered in Romania in the financial year preceding the sanction for widespread infringement (ie infringements affecting the collective interests of consumers residing in at least two Member States other than the Member State in which the infringement occurred or the trader is established or the evidence or assets of the trader are found) and for widespread infringement with a Union dimension (ie infringements affecting the collective interests of consumers in at least two-thirds of the Member States, accounting, together, for at least two-thirds of the population of the Union). The fine will be between 200,000 and 2 million euros if no information is available on the turnover.
• extension of the ANPC’s (ie National Authority for Consumer Protection) prerogatives. Under the new legislative framework: (i) the President of the ANPC may issue orders to cease or prohibit unfair commercial practices with extended applicability, which have effects on all the premises or places of work of the trader; (ii) a commission with prerogatives in investigating and sanctioning transnational or aggravated violations will be set up at the central level of ANPC; (iii) the watchdog of consumer protection will keep good standing records of the traders.
• On 20 June 2022, GEO 84/2022 on combating speculative actions and on amending and supplementing some normative acts came into force. The ordinance outlines the framework in which the authorities will be able to step in, during crisis situations, to combat profiteering in the relationship between companies (B2B) or between companies and consumers (B2C). It also brings important amendments to Law no. 11/1991 on combating unfair competition, such as:
• Introduces explicit criteria taken into account by the Competition Council when assessing whether a possible unfair competition practice affects public interest – ie, high degree of social danger, importance or size of the concerned economic sector, number of companies involved in the act, number of companies affected, or the duration of the unfair competition practice;
• Defines the procedural steps by which any natural or legal person may notify the Competition Council, by petition or written complaint, regarding a possible act of unfair competition;
• Increases the intervention powers of the Competition Council, which may: (i) order interim measures by decision, if it finds, at a first assessment, infringements that must cease and there is an urgency to prevent serious and irreparable damage; (ii) issue decisions imposing sanctions for infringements that are enforceable within 30 days of the communication, whether or not they are challenged.

The current dynamics in the field require operators to pay more attention to the legal framework. The new requirements will not be overlooked, especially by the authorities that have acquired new prerogatives and extended sanctioning powers.

[1] PL-x no. 54/2021.

[2] Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernization of Union consumer protection rules