Two deputies from the Save Romania Union (USR) party have proposed a draft law that mandates electronic age verification for the online sale of products and services prohibited to minors.
USR is part of the ruling coalition and is the fourth-largest party in the Romanian Parliament.
The product categories include alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vaping products, fireworks, gambling and any other age-restricted products or services.
The draft law proposes creating a central, interoperable IT system, the Public Age Verification Service (SVV), to be developed and managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
SVV would be provided free of charge to online retailers as a technical solution for verification, to be used alongside other electronic identification or authentication systems.
The draft states that SVV should become operational within six months of the law taking effect.
Retailers who fail to comply could face fines of RON 15,000 ($3,370) to 25,000 with repeated violations within 30 days, potentially leading to further fines or suspension of online operations.
Romania is considering other measures to protect those affected by gambling addiction, including stricter self-exclusion rules and harsher penalties for illegal gambling.
A draft regulation proposes a unified self-exclusion system covering both online platforms and physical venues. Players could not withdraw self-exclusion consent for 18 months.
Late last year, Raluca Turcan, a Member of Parliament in Romania, submitted a legislative proposal that would raise the minimum legal gambling age from 18 to 21.
Romania has recently shifted gambling oversight to local authorities, requiring operators of gambling halls to obtain a city hall operating authorisation in addition to their national licence
