The Greek ban on electronic games

The history, Law 3037/2002, and what the law says today about owning a pinball machine at home

Anyone who grew up in Greece in the 1980s remembers the arcades, the "oufadika": dark rooms with Space Invaders, Pac-Man and two or three pinball machines in the corner, the sign reading "No entry under 17" that nobody respected, and the whistle that meant the police were coming. Few people know, though, that in 2002 Greece became the first country in the world to ban all electronic games by law, in public and private places alike, that for nine years a pinball machine in your living room was technically illegal, and that the country paid more than 38 million euros in fines to the European Union before it fixed the mistake. This is the story.

1. Before 2002: arcades and police permits

Until 2002, games in Greece were governed by Royal Decree 29/1971, which codified the rules "on games of chance and other games". The decree split games into three classes: technical (the outcome depends on the player's skill), mixed (skill and luck) and games of chance. Gambling was banned outside special clubs, while technical games such as pinball were allowed under a permit issued by the police for the premises, with restrictions on minors. That is where the famous "under 17" sign came from.

Pinball peaked in Greece around 1980, when the new solid-state machines from Williams, Bally and Gottlieb arrived in large numbers. Every self-respecting arcade had at least two. In the 1990s consoles and home computers slowly pushed them aside, and Law 2515/1997 (article 8) moved the licensing of "recreational technical games" to the municipalities, with an annual fee per machine. At the same time, the market filled up with illegal "froutakia": electronic gambling machines disguised as amusement games. Those, not pinball, were the real target of the law that followed.

2. Summer 2002: Law 3037/2002

In the spring of 2002 a video showing a member of parliament from the governing party inside an illegal slot-machine club caused a scandal. The government reacted with a law rushed through parliament in July and published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ A 174) on 30 July 2002. Because the police found it hard to prove in court that a given machine was a gambling device rather than an amusement game, the legislator cut the knot: it banned everything.

What the law said. Article 1 defined four classes of games: mechanical (muscle power only), electrical, electromechanical (electricity plus muscle power, which is exactly a pinball machine) and electronic (running software). Article 2 prohibited the operation of electrical, electromechanical and electronic games, "including computers", in hotels, cafés, halls and "in any other public or private place". The only exception was casinos. Only purely mechanical games, such as table football, remained legal.

The penalties. Article 4 threatened the owner or manager of the premises with at least three months in prison and a fine of at least 5,000 euros, plus confiscation of the machines. For a repeat offence, at least one year in prison and a fine of 25,000 to 75,000 euros. Article 5 added an administrative fine of 10,000 euros per machine and permanent revocation of the business licence.

For pinball the effect was immediate and devastating. The machines in arcades, cafés and seaside bars had to disappear. People who made a living from them closed down or destroyed their stock. Hundreds of pinball machines were sold for next to nothing to dealers abroad, mainly in Italy and Germany, or were left to rot in warehouses. This is why it is so hard today to find a 1980s machine in Greece, while the same titles are plentiful in the rest of Europe.

3. The backlash

The problem became obvious within weeks. The letter of the law covered the home PC, a child's Game Boy and a game of chess in an internet café. In September 2002 the police charged the owners of an internet café in Thessaloniki because their customers were playing online chess and other games. The Thessaloniki court acquitted them, ruling the law unconstitutional, while more than 300 supporters gathered outside. The case went round the world's press and Greece earned the dubious title of the first country to ban video games, recorded even in the Guinness Book of Records.

On 24 September 2002 the government issued "clarifications" that the law did not apply to private use or to games with no financial gain. The clarifications did not change the text of the law, however, and the legal uncertainty remained. In December 2003 a ministerial decision (ΦΕΚ B 1827) allowed computers back into internet cafés but still banned games on them. In January 2004 the police raided internet cafés in Larissa, seized 80 computers and arrested three owners. Nobody dared put a pinball machine back in a public place.

4. Europe steps in

The European Commission opened infringement proceedings in 2003 and in February 2005 referred Greece to the European Court of Justice. On 26 October 2006, in case C-65/05, the Court ruled that the blanket ban infringed the free movement of goods, the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services (articles 28, 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty), and that Greece had not even notified the technical regulation to the Commission as required by Directive 98/34/EC. The reasoning was simple: fighting illegal gambling is a legitimate aim, but banning every game, including those that have nothing to do with money, is a disproportionate measure.

Greece did not comply. The Commission went back to the Court and on 4 June 2009, in case C-109/08, the country was condemned a second time, now with financial sanctions: a lump sum of 3 million euros and a penalty of 31,536 euros for every day of delay. The days became months and the months became two years.

5. 2011: Law 4002/2011 and the end of the ban

The fix came in the middle of the financial crisis. Law 4002/2011 (ΦΕΚ A 180, 22 August 2011), an omnibus "fiscal consolidation" law, contained in Part D the regulation of the gaming market. Article 54 paragraph 16 repealed articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 of Law 3037/2002, that is the definitions, the ban and the penalties. The law created the Hellenic Gaming Commission (ΕΕΕΠ) as an independent authority and once again split games into technical-recreational games and games of chance, with a completely different regime for each. In September 2012 the European Commission closed the case.

6. What applies today if you own a pinball machine

The framework in force is Law 4002/2011, as amended since. The key points for collectors and hobbyists:

• Pinball is a "technical-recreational game". Article 25 defines technical-recreational games as those whose outcome depends mainly on the player's skill, and divides them into mechanical, electromechanical and electronic. Pinball is electromechanical.
• Operating them is free. Article 38 paragraph 1 states explicitly that "the conduct of all forms of technical-recreational games is free", subject to the legal conditions. The blanket ban of 2002 no longer exists.
• No licence is needed at home. The conditions in the law (certification of the premises and of the game by the Gaming Commission, fiscal device, fees) concern commercial operation in a public place. Owning, repairing, buying and selling a pinball machine for private use is not regulated and requires no licence or declaration. The same goes for a collection of many machines.
• In a shop you need certification. If you want to put a coin-operated pinball machine in a café, bar or games room, the premises must be certified by the Gaming Commission as a venue for technical-recreational games (pure or mixed use) and the terms of the relevant decision must be followed. The procedure and fees are described at gamingcommission.gov.gr.
• Never for money. A technical-recreational game may not have any system for calculating and paying out a financial benefit to the player. A pinball machine modified to pay out, or betting on the score in a public place, legally turns it into a game of chance, with the heavy penalties of Law 4002/2011. The replay and match features of old machines, which award a free game and not money, are not a problem.
• Importing from abroad. From an EU country there is no restriction or customs formality at all. From the USA or the UK the machine clears customs normally with duty and VAT, like any second-hand goods, with no special permit.

Note: this article is historical and practical information from a hobbyist, not legal advice. For commercial operation contact the Hellenic Gaming Commission or a lawyer.

7. Timeline

Sources

• Law 3037/2002, ΦΕΚ A 174/30.7.2002 (e-nomothesia.gr, in Greek)
• Law 4002/2011, article 25 (definitions) and article 38 (technical-recreational games)
• ECJ, case C-65/05, Commission v Greece, 26.10.2006
• ECJ, case C-109/08, Commission v Greece, 4.6.2009
• in.gr, 2.10.2012: the Commission closes the Greek electronic games infringement (in Greek)
• Hellenic Gaming Commission: certification of venues and games
• Guinness World Records: first country to ban all video games
• Wikipedia: Law 3037/2002