TV quiz: entertaining contests or “legalized” fraud

Introduction. The issues related to studying various organizational and technological aspects of conducting interactive quizzes on the national TV are under consideration, the reasons for TV-viewers’ participation in quizzes being examined and the legal foundation for conducting TV games analyzed. Materials and Methods. During the research the following methods were used: formal logic, generalization, analysis and synthesis, induction, observation. Results and discussion. An interactive TV game is a live TV game with a moderator, who encourages the audience to call the studio and give the correct answer to some question and receive a cash prize. The main model for the organizers is to create excitement and form as many queues as possible of the TV-viewers who want to get on the air; each “hanging on the line” generates a programme (channel) income, paying for the connection and time for talking with the answering machine. Participants in such game shows often include minors, elderly people, financially disadvantaged people who did not understand the rules of the game. From a legal point of view, the organization and conducting of quiz shows are not illegal: the drawing is conducted according to the established rules, the winner of the quiz is determined and the prize being paid. Due to the fact that the organization of games such as television quizzes is not regulated by a special regulatory act that would establish clear and transparent rules for their conduct, various abuses by the organizers of these contests are possible. Conclusions. Many of the television quizzes (contests) held are connected with the participants’ financial expenses, but such games are not recognized as gambling, although they have their typical features and need legislative regulation, i.e., it is necessary to adopt an appropriate law. It is necessary to prescribe the responsibilities of the creators of programs and game shows to provide evidence that the program is broadcast live, i.e., the possibility of winning is real. The organizers must differentiate the broadcast time for such programs, determine the order of informing the viewers about the conditions of the game, provide measures excluding participation of minors in the game.