As local legislation strangles Romania’s gambling sector, stakeholders warn the impact of continued reforms could signal a death knell for the market.
Once the backbone of gaming in the region, Romania’s slot halls are facing an existential crisis. Over the past two years alone, the number of slot machines in the country has more than halved, dropping from 80,000 to 36,000. A source at a major Romanian operator, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he believed this could drop to just 20,000 or 15,000 by the end of the year. “And this is the optimistic scenario,” he added.
Pressure has been increasing on Romania’s gaming industry for several years.
