In 2002 Greece, in an attempt to fight illegal gambling, passed the ambiguous and controversial law 3037/2002 which was seen by many to ban all electronic games, including those running on home computers. The bill was declared a law on July 30, 2002. 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or valuables (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon ones ability to do something. ... Formally, a computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players may interact with in order to achieve a goal (or set of goals). ... A computer is a device or machine for making calculations or controlling operations that are expressible in numerical or logical terms. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During a case against some Internet cafe owners who allowed their customers to play online chess and other games, a local court in Thessaloniki declared the law unconstitutional. More than 300 people were gathered outside the court in support of the Internet cafe owners. An Internet café or cybercafé is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. ... Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... Many countries claim to have invented the chess game in some incipient form. ... Thessaloníki (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη; IPA /θɛ.sa. ...

The European Commission sent an official letter to the Greek Foreign Ministry explaining that the law may be in conflict with European legislation. In that case, the European Court of Justice could take action against Greece. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ... The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ...

The law would affect both Greek citizens and foreigners.

On September 24, 2002 government officials published a document in an effort to clarify the controversial articles of the law. September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the EU intervention and debates with the Internet cafe owners, the government passed a new decision (1107414/1491/T. & E. F.), published in the Government Gazette issue 1827, on December 8, 2003. The new law clarifies some articles of 3037/2002 but it still bans video games in Internet cafes, and computer software which delete or encrypt files on hard disks of computers owned by Internet cafes. December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... See also: Topics in cryptography The security of all practical encryption schemes remains unproven, both for symmetric and asymmetric schemes. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...

Current events

On January 14, 2004 Greek police raids in Internet cafes in Larissa reported by Eleftherotypia newspaper. 80 computers were taken by the police as evidence. 3 Internet cafe owners arrested. See [1] January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Larissa or Larisa (Greek: Λάρισα) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa prefecture. ...

External links

• Information in English:
  • http://dan.tobias.name/controversies/greekgames.html
• News in English:
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2238242.stm
  • http://news.com.com/2100-1040-956357.html
  • http://www.overclockers.com/tips00103/
  • http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,57305,00.html
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2357645.stm
  • http://www.geeklife.com/article.aspx?articleid=756&CommentCount=4
  • http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-957487.html
  • http://special.reserve.co.uk/news/story.php?id=2104&af=uf170902
  • http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-956357.html
• News in Greek:
  • http://www.adslgr.com/news.php?newsid=353
  • http://www.pcmaster.gr/columns/default.asp?Column=10&ArticleID=993
  • http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=403098
  • http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=404097
  • http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=407029
  • http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=414321
  • http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=421151
• Official Web Sites:
  • Union of netcafe owners
• Unofficial Web Sites:
  • The Law 3037/2002 in Greek