Romania’s new Audiovisual Code introduces several important changes, clarifications and restrictions; however, questions raised about the definitions, such as sports personality or influencer, have not been “thoroughly defined”, according to legal experts.
On July 8, 2025, the new Audiovisual Code adopted by the National Audiovisual Council (NAC) of Romania was published in the official gazette and will enter into force in 30 days. However, the prohibition for public figures to promote gambling will enter into force 90 days following publication.
Andrei Cosma, a partner at Romania-based law firm Baciu Partners, said the final approved version of the code “is exactly the same as the original version, even though several stakeholders raised issues that terms such as sports personality or influencer must be thoroughly defined”.
It remains to be seen if the NAC will issue any guidelines on the issue.
“The new restriction [on influencers and sports personalities] will enter into force at the beginning of October [7th], and the industry will surely ask for clarification. Clarifying what public personality or notoriety means is paramount because these concepts may be somewhat subjective as well as volatile (I may be a famous influencer today and cancelled by the public tomorrow),” Cosma told 91ԭ GamblingCompliance.
Cosmina Simion, managing partner with the Romanian office of WH Partners, said “there is no definition as to what ‘notoriety in the online environment’ means and we are yet to see how will this be applied in practice, how many followers, for example, would one need to have so to pass the notoriety test, or what other criteria is to be considered”.
“In terms of personalities, the only reference one has for now is the definition given by the Romanian explanatory dictionary, which reads that: a personality may be a person with special and high qualities, an important or high-level person in a certain field,” she told 91ԭ GamblingCompliance.
Cosma expects this will have a “significant impact because several operators (especially online) heavily rely on sports legends and influencers for their marketing strategies”.
The new code, “in strict terms”, should apply only to TV and radio, but “the intention publicly declared by the audiovisual regulator is for this restriction to apply also for other online channels with audiovisual ads,” such as YouTube and TikTok, according to the lawyer.
“Even before this restriction existed, the audiovisual regulator had monitored certain social media/YouTube channels of gambling operators and raised issues when the authority considered that the audiovisual law was not observed,” he said.
Under the new code, audiovisual programmes containing gambling and gambling advertisements are prohibited between 6am and 11pm. However, betting advertising can be broadcast during live sports events.