Iași becomes Romania’s first county to ban gambling halls

21 July 2026 Iași has become the first county in Romania where all local authorities have decided to ban gambling halls with slot machines, following a civic campaign that gathered more than 7,000 signatures. The local councils of all 98 cities and communes in Iași County voted to prohibit gambling halls under powers granted to local authorities by recent legislation, making the county the first in the country to adopt such a comprehensive ban. Implementation will vary across municipalities. Some local councils have opted to close gambling halls immediately, while others will allow existing licences to expire. According to the National Office for Gambling, the last licences in the county are due to expire in February 2027. The initiative was driven by a county-wide civic campaign that argu