Watchdog to ban TV phone-in games of chance
The Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) is set to ban all phone-in games of chance aimed at Greek television viewers after asking Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis to amend the existing legal framework to that effect.
“The ban is recommended in order to protect the public and in particular minors and vulnerable social groups,” the gaming watchdog said in a proposal which it made public on Tuesday.
The statement issued by the Gaming Commission added that the issue has become the subject of much discussion which has highlighted the risk that people, and especWatchdog to ban TV phone-in games of chanceially children and the elderly, run if they spend a lot of time at home in front of the television.
Commission officials spoke of the efforts made by certain television channels to trick viewers, asking them to call numbers with a high charge rate repeatedly to enter draws in order to participate in games. Such efforts to trick viewers into paying high amounts in phone charges to participate in these games have repeatedly been the subject of complaints both to EEEP and the National Broadcasting Council (ESR).
