INTERVIEW A CNA member intervenes in the current debate: “I don't know how you could ban a time slot as access”

After the Senate passed two new nine laws with the intention of protecting young people from scams and online gambling little is discussed about the important events of the last few days, for reasons related to the financial power of the gambling industry. Neither pro-law nor anti-law arguments are heard. HotNews and its sports site GOLAZO will continue to talk to all parties so that the public can form their own informed opinion.

• Monica Gubernat, CNA member and former president of the audiovisual forum. says that, in its current form, with a ban on online gambling advertising between 6am and 12am, he “doesn't think the law can be enforced.
• “At first glance I would say a total ban, but we have to see what the consequences are. It's a serious discussion to have,” adds the CNA official.
• Investigative website Snoop recently published the most comprehensive review of European patterns in the regulation of casinos, online betting and gambling.

On December 11, the National Broadcasting Council (CNA) sent the Senate an opinion with several observations regarding the law that prohibits gambling ads between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.

The law was voted in the Senate. He went on to the Chamber of Deputies. Monica Gubernat, CNA member and former president of the audiovisual forum, explained to HotNews that CNA has so far only been consulted on the project that prohibits influencers from advertising for the betting industry and prohibits any kind of advertising between 6:00 and 24:00.

Monica Gubernat: “Online, a material can be seen when the person who wants to see that material wants to”

For the other project, also passed by the Senate, which prohibits the access of young people under the age of 21 to gambling halls, CNA says that it was not officially consulted.

“CNA, I think, rightly gave an opinion with observations. Precisely because we don't know how to proceed online in such a way as to impose time restrictions under conditions where a material can be seen when the person who wants to see that material wants. So I don't know how you could impose time restrictions online. Seriously, honestly, it's not clear to me”, explained, for HotNews, the opinion given by CNA Monica Gubernat.

Public pressure from citizens

There has been a great public outcry against the social effects of gambling for years. Several members of the Romanian Parliament confessed that they are called or contacted daily by parents angry that the state is not doing anything, as the politicians told in an interview for HotNews.

Following the same bottom-up pressure from citizens to their elected officials, several city mayors have recently announced that they will ban gambling.

Beyond the public emotion, HotNews tries to make available to the people the arguments of those who have objections to the nine two laws.

Monica Gubernat, CNA: “As far as I can tell, it cannot be applied”

– HotNews: Mrs. Gubernat, how should the article of the law be amended so that it can be applied?
– Monica Gubernat: I think that the best option is that the platforms and those who upload materials have some mechanisms so that the access of minors is prohibited. And as far as I know, the European Union, being very large platforms, are somehow under the jurisdiction of the European Commission directly. And as far as I know, the Commission is working on a set of measures in this regard, under pressure from member states, especially because of minors' access to pornography.

-So basically, as that article of the legislative proposal is now formulated, can't ads be banned during the day for all users?
–You can not. Especially since there are basically two types of advertising on the platforms. There is the advertising of the content uploader, who has the right to promote various, and there is also the advertising of the platform, which introduces the advertisement somehow randomly. And then I don't know how you could deny access. I don't know how you could ban a time slot as access.

– If the law passes the Chamber of Deputies, what do you think will happen then, practically? That it cannot be applied, from what you tell me.
– As far as I can tell, it cannot be applied. I understand that those who should apply it, in addition to us, I suspect, are also those from ONJN. I don't know how it will be done. There, at ONJN, the new director (President Vlad Cristian Soare) is a lawyer who knows the field very well, and I saw that he is doing some very good things there. It is really appreciated.

– Was CNA consulted in any other way before the project was developed or only now when this opinion was requested?
– As an institution, no. Whether my colleagues were consulted, I do not know, but our opinions are practically official when they are voted on in the meeting.

“We are the institution that banned public figures from advertising”

– And regarding the other project that increases the access age in gambling halls to 21 years and bans public figures from advertising gambling, what is your opinion as a CNA member? Are there problems there?
– The one about age, I personally agree with that, and as for public figures, you know we are the institution that banned public figures from advertising.

– I really wanted to ask you what stage the CNA is at with this given decision, because I know that at a certain point there was still discussion within the institution about how public persons are defined.
– It seems that there is no longer any dilemma from this point of view, because we watch the gambling spots and you know that the public figures are gone. That is, apart from outdoor (advertisements on street billboards).

That's what the Parliament had to legislate, if you ask me, so that the measures related to advertising are common on all platforms, i.e. in audiovisual, outdoor, and on the written side. That, as I recall, was one of the observations that we passed on.

“Ads have been totally banned in Italy, including on platforms”

– Do you see a permanent ban on gambling ads, not just in time slots, feasible?
– In Italy, advertising has been totally banned, including on platforms. The similar authority in Italy fined Google for even allowing an ad.

I would agree with the total ban, but I don't know how we can manage the gray and black zone, because at one point I had meetings with the ONJN and they say, for example, that there are a lot of casinos in the gray and black zone.

They're not licensed and it's very, very hard to track. And then I don't know if it's good, as a medium and long-term effect, to ban it completely, because somehow it develops in the illicit zone, which is much, much harder to track. That's a more serious discussion to have.

At first sight I would say a total ban, but we have to see what the consequences are.- And how do you support the argument?
– In theory I'm for the ban, yes. But I think it's very, very hard to follow. In classical audiovisual you realize that it is very simple, but in online it will be very, very difficult to follow. And let's hope we still manage to get some software so we can watch online more easily.