Children’s digital safety is gradually becoming a top concern for many European countries, with Romania being the latest to consider stringent controls.

Similarly to France, where regulations to limit under-15s access to social media have been in place since July 2023, lawmakers in Romania are considering the roll out of mandatory age checks for children up to 16 years of age, potentially even outright banning social networks for that age group.

The goal is to protect minors from content that is considered sexual or violent in nature, as well as to reduce the rates of online bullying and harassment which has become almost a given among digital youth circles.

Concerns, however, have also spilled over to gambling, with online monitoring reformists also bundling up advertising restrictions into their demands.

Save the Children, an NGO leading the online minor protections debate, has been quite outspoken against what it sees as a proliferation of child gamblers in Romania. 

Data presented by the organisation shows that 48.3% of children spend more than six hours a day online. A separate Save the Children data set showcased that 14% of surveyed children have gambled at least once in their lifetime, while 40% admitted to knowing a peer who has gambled.

In light of the results, Gabriela Alexandrescu, President of Save the Children Romania, said: “We must be aware of the real risks of gambling addiction and the destructive pathological behaviors it generates.

“It is imperative to completely eliminate gambling advertising, limit the spaces dedicated to these activities, and even prohibit gambling for people under 21.”

These concerns were also shared by a number of politicians, including MP Raluca Turcan, who added: “Gambling advertisements must not invade children’s space. It is vital to ban not only gaming halls, but also billboards and advertisements near schools, parks, playgrounds, campuses, hospitals or churches.”

Political pressure to clamp down on gambling has been gradually increasing since the start of the year as a result of the major hiccup that the national regulator, ONJN, went over in February, when an audit found €900m of missing taxes.