A stop off at the gambling hall on the way to school
In rural Romania, gambling rooms stand just steps away from schools, drawing in students long before lessons start. Despite legislation banning betting halls near educational institutions, lax enforcement and local habits mean minors still find easy access – a reflection of how gambling regulation often fails to reach beyond the country’s big cities.
December 7, 2025 -
Raluca Cristea
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Issue 6 2025MagazineStories and ideas
Photo by Raul Ștef
At 6:40am in Domnești, a small village in Central Romania, the smell of coffee and cigarettes and the sound of crumpled sports betting tickets start the day off for multiple high schoolers. Only a few hundred metres away from the high school, two gambling rooms have become a hangout spot for commuting students, arriving before the school opens at 7:10. Even though the owner of the establishment claims he does not allow underage patrons to play the slot machines, the students spend their mornings there smoking, drinking soda and coffee and sometimes even gambling. The principal of the high school admits the phenomenon is known and worrisome.
A bill adopted by Romania’s Senate on March 13th 2023 proposes banning bookmakers and gambling houses operating less than 300 metres walking distance from schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, cultural institutions or banks. However, the proposal has been blocked in the committees of the lower chamber of Romania’s parliament for over two years.
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children, gambling, politics, Romania
