Law Nr. 650 from 7 December 2002 (excerpts*)

For the approval of the Government Regulation nr. 99/2000 concerning commercialization of the market products and services.

Issued by the Parliament of Romania

PUBLISHED IN: MONITORUL OFICIAL NR. 914 from 16 December 2002

The Parliament  of Romania enacts this law.

ART. 1

The Government Regulation nr. 99 from 29 August 2000 concerning the commercialization of the market products and services, enacted on the grounds of the art.1 C paragraph 2 from the Law nr. 125/2000 concerning the authority of the Government to isuue regulations and published in Monitorul Oficial, Part I, nr. 424 from 1 September 2000 is approved, with the following amendments and addenda:

1. Article 1 will have the following content:

"ART. 1

This regulation establishes the general principles concerning the organization of the commercial activities and pursues the development of the distribution network of the market products and services, by keeping the principles of free competition, protection of life, health, security and economic interests of the consumers, as well as of the environment."

2. Paragraphs c), e), f) şi g) of  the second article will have the following content:

"c) accurate information and defending the interests of the consumers, as well as the possible assurance of the market products and services in their neighbourhood; (...)

e) promotion of the various types of distribution networks and forms of selling;

f) encouragement of the development of the small business with a  commercialization of the market products and services activity.;

g) supporting and protection of the commercial activities and market services in the under-privileged areas."

3. Paragraph (1) and a), d), h), i) şi j) of the paragraph (3) of the article 3 will have the following content:

"ART. 3

(1) This regulation controls the activities from the commercial and market services areas concerning the demands needed for the organization of this activity, the selling structures, the commercial practices and the general rules of the trade, as well as the penalties to be established in case of the disrespecting of its stipulations. (....)

a) medicines and medical devices; (....).

d) assets from the production of the individual craftsmen sold at the place of fabrication;(....)

h) goods sold to the visitors, during festivals, fairs and other exhibits, provided that these should match the objective of the manifestation;

i) confiscated and  capitalized goods, according to the legal provisions;

j) products and market services controlled by special normative acts."

4. Lettter e) of the paragraph (3) of the article 3 is abrogated.

5. The Article 4 will have the following content:

37. The Article 42 will have the following content:

"ART. 42

(1) The direct selling is the commercial practice by which the products or services are sold by the businessman directly to the consumers, outside the retail stores, through direct salespersons, who show their products and services offered for sale..

(2) The network selling (multilevel marketing) is a form of direct selling by which the products and services are offered to the consumers through a network of direct salesmen who receive a commission for their own sales as well as for the sales that are generated in the networks of salespersons that they have themselves recruited."

38. Letter b) of the article 43 will have the following content:

"b) the action of getting a person to collect adhesion or to get a list of subscribers, making that person hope earn money resulted from the growing number of recruited people."

48. Article 55 will have the following content:

"ART. 55

The bonus sale is a commercial practice by which , at the selling or selling offer of products/services one offers the consumer, free of charge, imediately or after a certain time, a bonus taking the shape of a product/service."

49. Article 56 will have the following content:

"ART. 56

Any sale or sale offer of products or services made to the consumer and which gives him the right, free of charge, immediately or after a certain time, to receive a bonus taking the shape of a product/service, except the case when these are from the same sort as the products/services that were bought is prohibited."

50. Letter c) of the article 57 will have the following content:

"c) the products or services whose values are up to 10% from the prices/fees of the products/services bought by the consumers;"

[UP]

Bill concerning the organization and functioning of the gaming business

   ( http://www.mfinante.ro/legislatie/index.jsp?selected=2  )

                Head Note

Among the primary legislative objectives of the government in the process of preparing the integration of Romania in UE and the adhesion to NATO, as well as with a view to fulfilling some primary objectives from the Government programme, we can find the bill of a normative act which will control the condition of the authorization of the activities from the gaming business area.

After the issue of the regulation concerning the condition of the authorization of the gaming business are, the changes in the Romanian economy and the need to maintain certain healthy authorization devices impose the need to alter the present legislation of the gaming business area by introducing the new elements which appeared during this time..    ...

...  The ban of the on-line gaming organized through communication channels like the Internet, of the games of the type of bingo organized through television networks or through other communication channels, of bets which have as technical support the results of some illicit contests, of games that can be influenced by the dexterity of the organizer, as well as of the games where the people have to bring in or collect money or have their names on a list, thus hoping to win money resulted from the growing number of persons recruited, no matter how this collection is made („pyramidal games”)

This bill was established with a view to all the above and is here for you to sign.

MINISTER OF FINANCE

Mihai Nicolae Tănăsescu

Law

Concerning the organization and functioning of the gaming business

ART.1

The organization and exploitation of the gaming business activity on the territory of Romania is done only with the license to organize gaming and with the Authorization to exploit gaming, documents which are given by the Minister of Finance.

ART.2

(1) By gaming one understands the attribution of  all types of  gains, depending on some certain elements and regardless of their way of production and with the collection of some direct or hidden participation fees.

(2) To be considered gaming, the conditions of a random element and the participant fee are cumulative for this law.

(3) The organization of any type of gaming implies, generally, the existence of the following elements: game and/or match, participant’s fee named stake or bet, means of the game, organizer, participant and gain or prize.

ART.3

(1) By direct participant’s fee we understand the sum of money collected directly from the player by the organizer in exchange of the right to participate in the game.

(2) By hidden participant’s fee we understand the sum of money collected additionaly for the selling of some products which allow the right to participate in the game, as well as the additional fees collected for the usage of the telephone lines or other means of communication assimilated or for providing some services which have as a goal the right to participate in the game.

ART. 4

(1) By means of the game we understand the material support consisting of cars, devices, game tables and other, including the informational support, and which serve for the organization and functioning of the gaming business.

(2) The means of the game might be basic, might generate random elements directly or be auxiliary.

ART.5

(1) Prin organizator de jocuri de noroc se înţelege persoana juridică română care a obţinut licenţă de organizare a jocurilor de noroc potrivit prezentei legi.

(2) The organizers of the gaming are liable to ensure that the players participate in the game with equal chances, with equal stakes played on random elements, or, in the case of the bets, on random elements and the ability of the players.

ART.6

By  participant in the gaming we understand any person of age who wishes and has the right to participate in games legally authorized on the national territory. The participation in the game implies the adhesion without condition to all the stipulations of the rules of the specific game.

ART.7

By gain or prize we understand the sum granted by the organizer to the participant according to the stipulations of the specific game.

ART.8

(1) The gaming that may be authorized are are categorized as follows:

a) games of the type of loto, if there are used the random results of some events which consist of extractions of numbers, letters, balls or symbols, regardless of the proceedings and the features of the means used for the extraction (boxes, wheels, bowls and other similar means); there are to be included in this category the lotteries, including  the instantaneous ones, all the types of raffles, bingo, keno which don’t take place in the players’ presence, and, generally, any game that consists in numbers , letters, symbols, ticket extractions, as well as all the mechanical, electronic and video devices and other devices through which various gains determined by the random events generated by those specific devices .;

b) games of the type of the bet, if there are used the results of some events that will happen without the involvement of the organizers, provided that the results that are bet on should not be determinated randomly. The bet is a gaming in which the participant must indicate the results of some events that are to take place. This category includes:

(i)                 mutual bets where the prize is distributed to the participants that are declared winners, proportionally with the number of the winning schemes of each of those, the organizer being involved only in the process of collecting the participants’ fees and distribution of the sums established as prizes according to the stipulations of the specific game.;

(ii)               the fix share bets where the organizer is the one who establishes the shares of increase of the participants’ fee on personal criteria and announces the shares of increase of the participants’ fees to the participants provided that the schemes played should be declared winners according to the stipulations of the specific game.;

c) active gaming, where the events happen with the help of some specific means of the game, in the presence of the participants, with or without their direct involvement. The means of the game may be: roulettes, cards, dice, balls, mechanical, electric,  electronic, video devices as well as games that are exploited through other devices, and of whose winnings need the dexterity and ability of the player and luck, for example: Atlantic Pusher, Niagara etc., as well as, american roulette, french roulette, black-jack, poker, baccara, chemin de fer, redgo, punto banco, table, canastă, pinacle, 66, pasienţe, garde au coeur, belotă, 21. In this category are included:

(i)                 games with winnings generated by random elements, organized by the use of mechanical, electric, electronic, video devices, games that are exploited through devices and installations of whose winnings need the dexterity and ability of the player and luck;

(ii)               Casino games, with winnings generated by random elements, organized at regular or special tablesby using balls, cards, symbols, dice or other objects or physical forms of participation and organization of gaming;

(iii)             bingo games organized in game rooms, with winnings generated by random elements, organized by using complex equipment for an extraction of the type of lottery, and which are characterized by extractions and succesive prizes.

(2) In as far as other types of games will appear, characterized by the attribution of winnings depending on random factors, on luck, with the collection of some direct or hidden participation fees, these will have to obtain licence or authorization, given the fact that their organization and functioning is permitted by law.

(3) The gaming may be organized with or without the player’s direct participation, regardless of the technical means used..

ART.9

The following types of games are not considered gaming and are not allowed without authorization:

a) raffles organized in schools, kindergartens, or other collectivities and which have a amusing, non-profit character for the organizers;

b) games of the entartaining type, exploited through different devices and which do not imply winnings based on random elements, having as a goal the testing of the strenght, intelligence and the dexterity of the participant;

c) actions organized by different economic agents named advertising lotteries, with a view to stimulating the sales and which do not imply participants’ fees, respectively no additional fee from the participants neither the increase in the price of the product prior to the advertising.

ART.21

Any person who organizes, or facilitates the following activities commits a crime which will be punished by imprisonment from 1 to 4 years or fine.:

a) virtual gaming organized by systems of communications of the type of Internet;

b) the bingo and keno games organized through television networks or other similar means of broadcast;

c) bets concluded on illicit contests.;

d) games of the type  alba - neagra of which results may be influenced by the dexterity of the handler of the means of the game, for example: cards, stamps, lids, balls, etc.;

e) games of the type of bets, regardless of the form of organization and of the means of the game used, which use a game support the results of the loto games, regardless of the location where these games are organized, and where the participants can indicate the results of those events.

 ART.22

(1) The organization and functioning of games, regardless of their name, through which one suggests other people to deposit or collect money or join a list, making them hope to win money resulted from the increase in number of the persons recruited, regardless of the means of this collect are considered a crime which will be punished with imprisonment from 2 to 7 years or with a fine.

(2) Suggesting one person to deposit or collect money or join a list in the conditions stipulated in paragraph (1) is considered a crime which will be punished with imprisonment from 1 to 4 years or with a fine.