Greeks ban electronic games.

BKtje

Plz move to whatever forum is best. Ive no idea where this should be.

The greek government has placed a ban on all forms of electronic gaming. including mobiles, i-net games, gameboys, consoles.

Apparently they had it very bad with illegal gambling. Ppl used to run stores for gambling (netshop layout i guess) and if the cops showed up they'd press a button and turn all the gambling machines into a pc playing a game.

Apparently some one got fined 10k euro already for playing a game while the owner of the store was fined 220k.


I dont have any links, tho any greek ive spoken to has confirmed it and ive read snipets on gaming sites. As far as i can tell this is real. How the **** are they gonna get away with that i dont know.

Edit: guess this should be in politics or games.

leeroybrown

Is there any News/Media stories about this.

It sounds a bit excessive.

BKtje

right i found this from a month ago. http://www.theregus.com/content/6/25498.html

its a month old and gaming is now banned everywhere apparently. (i havent found much supporting that yet tho. There is a ban on net cafes gaming however)

Edit: Also found this. Its a gaming site however. http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=220579

Ry

Jayzuz it's true!! Feel sorry for the poor Greekies. I like the "Guess your president got pwned in Tetris" gag.

Gordon

That's bollix.

Used to live in Greece and know a bit about it nowadays. They are getting into the gaming scene in baby steps now but the cops are definately not on their tail, they are into busting drug dealers (smoke a joint in front of a cop and you could be in jail for 10 years kinda thing).

Gaming being banned a month ago? I was there a month ago and they truly dont have a clue what gaming is, they don't play games man. Gaming? - they don't know what that means ffs!

BKtje

the law was only brought in during this week. The bill was presented last month.

Mossy Monk

so what would happen if i was in Greece happily playing a game on my PS2 and the cops caught me. would i get jail time or a hefty fine? i feel sorry for the Greeks

BKtje

i think u can get fined 10k euro or so.
Was talking to a greek again and he gave me this link. Shows some of the new law.

http://www.netcafe.gr/files/law.txt

Gordon

PS and PS2 games are popular although PC gaming isnt as much. Maybe you're right then but I sincerely doubt that this will at all be upheld. I guarantee the videoshops are renting games and I know without a shadow of a doubt that arcade games will rule Greece for a long time yet. They are an institution, you see them 7 fold more than you do here. (they even have arcade games that have every single game inside it - you select which game you want from the menu from pacman to doubledragon to bobble blah blah)

But I'll look into it from my Greek friends, one being a big PS addict! I bet you a small sum that it is bollix. It sounds a wind up, a funny one though if you have stayed in Greece, it kinda has a quirky punchline then.

If anything - gambling is similar to gambling here in Ireland, it is not allowed but it exists. If the law is in place it is in place as much as the law in Ireland that says one must not have a mobile phone in ones car.
pffffft!!


(p.s. it's bollix!)

DiscoStu

been there for the last 2 summers and all i can say is its a strange country. the riots in pireaus to get on the ferries were fun to. and i came so close to buying a gba in vienna, could have been locked up after getting off the plane and never be seen again.

Gordon

Well that's interesting.
It seems that they, as you say, are so pissed off about gambling they are resorting to cold turkey. Very funny indeed.

It does seem to make a reference about 'private' places being prohibited to play games but this is farcical. I can only imagine that they are trying to get rid of the masses of gambling machines that Greece has and the only way that the Greeks know how to do this is by banning everything with a flashing screen.

It won't stop the internet cafes playing games, it will only be a lubricating slime to line the pockets of the many corrupt policemen. It most definately won't stop people playing their own games in their house or on the street. The fact that government officials have been caught playing these games has really been a factor in the pushmepullyou of the process of this law.

rofl, typical Greece! (love the country as a second home) It created democracy and within a space of 2000 years proceeded to slowly hack it into millions of bits. The populous want gambling and the few few leaders don't. hehehe.

Ola einai malakies
Tha ein' oraia sto paradeisos!

(do I have to eat a hat now?!)

BKtje

o im well aware that ppl will play games in their homes but that isnt the point if you ask me. The greeks i spoke to werent overly worried. They said that they would just treat gaming like they treat warez games. They'd do it without a second thought.

I cant believe a country went THAT cold turkey tho.

Gordon

Ye, just wish they had such zealousness with more important issues eg. their drainage system. An Irish thunderstorm in Greece ends up washing cars down the roads and killing people, all out mayhem.

when it rains - it pours.

DiscoStu

i didnt want to mention the sewage system...... how could they have invented it and then make the worst one in europe?

LoGiE

I've spent two months there again this year and i don't see how they can enforce this law. Every second greek kid i saw had a gameboy and no doubt a playstation as well.

The category (e) also includes all card games which had been characterised as
"technical" games, according to the statement of law F.E.K A21.

Utter madness:rolleyes:
As for the drainage system i think as a rule anything larger then a postage stamp cause's problems that combined with having to place used toilet paper in a bin beside you take's some getting used to;)

leeroybrown

Apparrently the blanked ban may have been caused by some over-zealous wording in a piece of legislation intended to kerb the use of slot-machine based electronic gambling.