New time based on Deal or No Deal show
Deal or No Deal

Deal Or No Deal could be pushed back into an evening time slot

Channel 4’s UK TV show it Deal Or No Deal may have to be aired after the 9pm watershed in Britain after The Gambling Commission has warned that due to its gambling theme, it may be inappropriate for daytime television, according to the latest casino gambling news.

The announcement will undoubtedly cause a wave of anger amongst viewers after other morning shows, which frequently feature Free Online Blackjack advertisements as sponsors, has apparently gone unnoticed in the drama. ITV’s Red or Black is another gambling show also under consideration for a time slot change.

The silly move, spurned on by anti-gambling activists, could see the shows made to pay a licensing fee of between £30,000 and £60,000 a year to broadcast, putting a planned ITV revival of nineties cult classic Play Your Cards Right on ice for the moment, until the issue has been cleared up.

In an even more remarkable and absurd twist of events, if the shows fail to stump up the cash for the required license, then the producers could face jail time, leading some to believe that Channel 4 may simply cancel the show rather than risk the wrath of the authorities. This would be a huge blow for the channel, however, as the show pulls in roughly 4 million viewers in the afternoon, since it first aired in 2005.

Whilst poker and Black Jack Tournaments are currently aired after the watershed hour of 9pm, there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding this latest issue, because it would define the television show, in which contestants must pick off boxes one by one to win up a cash prize of up to £250,000, as the same as casino card games. Something which the producers adamantly state it is not.

There is hope for the show yet though, after a government source told British newspaper The Mail On Sunday that “the Gambling Commission does not seem to think that there is any skill element to the show. Even though at the beginning of the show, contestants do not have to stake any of their own money, the argument is that once they’ve picked a box, which could contain a lot of cash, in subsequent rounds they are in effect gambling with their own money.”

In a furious response to the Gambling Commissions claims, one senior online broadcasting source rapped back: “this is an absolutely ridiculous state of affairs. The Gambling Commission has no right to be poking its nose into what are harmless television programs. How can anyone regard Deal Or No Deal as gambling? It is probably the most innocent show on television. I think it’s very telling that this program is aired in 30 different countries but only in Britain has this become an issue.”

Many feel as though the Gambling Commission is deliberately citing the show as a target for profit, with the licensing fees seen as a way to milk the hugely popular show for additional money during an economic crisis. The Gambling Commission doesn’t see it this way, of course, and insists that they merely do not want people to feel inclined to go and gamble by watching the show. Both ITV and Channel 4 have refused to comment directly on the issue at this time.