A Romanian city wants to ban slot machines

Slatina Mayor Mario de Mezzo announced on Wednesday, through a video posted on Facebook, that the city will be the first to be „free of slot machines”.

„When the ordinance adopted last night is published in the official monitor, in the first meeting of the Local Council I will propose the elimination of all gaming halls and all slot machines from the municipality of Slatina. Not a single slot machine will operate in the municipality of Slatina anymore”.

He indicates that „all the slot machines that have ruined an entire country” will be eliminated from the city, even if this means losing taxes and fees. The mayor claims that people’s lives are more important.

“How much does the life of the 27-year-old child that I saw dead in the Olt River, that I saw during my term as prefect, and that committed suicide after losing at the polls, cost? How much do the lives of children, husbands, fathers, lives destroyed by the polls cost? For me, these lives are priceless,” said Mario de Mezzo.

On Tuesday, the Romanian government adopted the administrative package drafted by the Ministry of Development, which promises faster decentralization, more efficient local administrations, and a reduction in the budget apparatus by 6,409 positions.

According to it, local authorities will be able to decide, for example,