No Games for You!!!

Sonny · Sep 3, 2002

http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1040-956357.html?type=pt&part=msnbc&tag=alert&form=feed&subj=cnetnews

Greece: Stop the games--or go to jail

By Matt Loney and Rupert Goodwins
Staff Writers, CNET News.com
September 3, 2002, 11:18 AM PT

In Greece, playing a shoot-'em up video game could land you in jail.
The government there has banned all electronic games across the country, including those that run on home computers, on Game Boy-style portable consoles, and on mobile phones. Thousands of tourists in Greece are unknowingly facing heavy fines or long terms in prison for owning mobile phones or portable video games.

Greek Law Number 3037, enacted at the end of July, explicitly forbids electronic games with 'electronic mechanisms and software' from public and private places, and people have already been fined tens of thousands of dollars for playing or owning games.

The law applies equally to visitors from abroad: "If you know these things are banned, you should not bring them in," said a commercial attaché at the Greek Embassy in London, who declined to give her name.

Internet cafes will be allowed to continue to operate, providing no games-playing takes place. If a customer is found to be running any sort of game, including online chess, the café owner will be fined and the place closed.

The Greek government introduced the law in an attempt to prevent illegal gambling. According to a report in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Greek police will be responsible for catching offenders, who will face fines of 5,000 to 75,000 euros (about $4,980 to $74,650) and imprisonment of one to 12 months. "The blanket ban was decided in February after the government admitted it was incapable of distinguishing innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines," the report said.

The Greek gaming community has reacted with a mixture of shock, disbelief and anger. One Web site, www.gameland.gr, has started a news service about the ban and opened a petition to protest it. In addition, it is posting English translations of the law and messages of support from around the world.

A test case is to come before the Greek courts next week, and the Greek gaming community is already planning protests in the event that the defendant is convicted.

"We are trying to organize a protest against this law," said Petros Tipis of Thessaloniki-based gaming company Reload Entertainment, which has had to cancel a gaming tournament that was to be held this week.

If the prosecution of the defendant next week is successful, said Tipis, the Greek gaming industry will take the case to the European Court.

In the meantime, Tipis told ZDNet UK, a lot of people in Greece are very worried about the new law. "They are taking it very seriously," he said. "It even affects the games that come with Windows. This law isn't the right one," he added. "It is unfair. It was introduced too quickly."

Reload's tournament, which was to be held on Sept. 6, was a qualifier for the CPL Oslo 2002 gaming tournament. "Now we are trying not to lose the two slots we were given from CPL for the tournament," said Tipis. "This was the first time for a qualifier (for this tournament) in Greece."
Click to expand...

This is crazy. I don't know how you can gamble with a Gameboy or a cell-phone. I guess you can't have a playstation or XBOX either? There are some pissed off kids there.

Timing · Sep 3, 2002

Whoa... that's unbelievable.

Greek Prison

Murderer: "What are you in for kid?"

Teenager: "Playing Super Mario."

Refman · Sep 3, 2002

I can just see the SWAT team surrounding a kid...a guy on a bullhorn says: "OK kid...it'll be ok...just step away from the Game Boy nice and slow!!!!!"

Cohen · Sep 3, 2002

Should be a great headline:

'Twenty-Thousand Olympic Fans with mobile phones arrested at Athens airport...'

DaDakota · Sep 3, 2002

Needless to say, I think this sucks !!

DD

Sonny · Sep 16, 2002

Looks like this didn't last too long, idiots.

http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1040-957519.html?type=pt&part=msnbc&tag=alert&form=feed&subj=cnetnews

Greek gaming law defeated in court

By Matt Loney
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
September 11, 2002, 10:46 AM PT

A new Greek law banning the playing of electronic games was declared unconstitutional by a judge, and the charges against three people were dismissed.
The decision by a judge in Thessaloniki, Greece, could eventually result in the law being repealed, according to reports in the local press.

Before Tuesday's decision, computer game players and Internet cafe owners in Greece said they would fight the law. According to opponents, the law was conceived to address illicit gambling but was written so broadly that playing any electronic game could be considered illegal.

Indeed, the three people released Tuesday operated or worked at Internet cafes, and, according to a Greek news Web site, the police officers who searched the cafes testified that they did not observe any Internet gambling going on--just customers playing chess and other non-gambling games over the Internet.

A draft of the bill, which was brought before the Greek parliament at the end of May, stated clearly that all games supported by electrical, electromechanical and software means were banned from public places, according to Nikos Kakayanis, managing director of a string of Internet cafes called The Web. A board member of The Web, Christos Iordanidis, was among those facing charges Tuesday.

When the bill was discussed again in July, said Kakayanis, "a member of the opposition party expressed concern that it would only be a matter of time before the owners of illegal gambling machines moved whatever machines they were using for gambling (coin-ops, PCs, consoles) from their stores (to) private places." As a result, the law was modified to include every private place as well, said Kakayanis.

"Nobody from the members of the parliament realized or could foresee the effects that this would have for PC games, Internet games and game consoles, simply because they are not familiar with that side of technology," Kakayanis added. The bill became law July 30.

Each of the three people charged with violating the law faced up to three months imprisonment and a fine of about $5,000.
Click to expand...

rockHEAD · Sep 16, 2002

Originally posted by Timing edited by rH
Whoa... that's unbelievable.

Greek Prison

Murderer: "What are you in for kid?"

Teenager: "Playing Super Mario."

Murderer: "Bend over"

Click to expand...

Forums

No Games for You!!!

Sonny Member

Timing Member

Refman Member

Cohen Member

DaDakota Balance wins
Supporting Member

Sonny Member

rockHEAD Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!

No Games for You!!!

Sonny Member

Timing Member

Refman Member

Cohen Member

DaDakota Balance wins Supporting Member

Sonny Member

rockHEAD Member

Share This Page

DaDakota Balance wins
Supporting Member