Remember all those scandals over TV phone-in competitions in Britain back in 2007, such as the GMTV scam and the BBC "mistakes". Well, Belgian TV is now embroiled in a similar controversy.
A reporter, Maxime De Winne, worked undercover for six months as a presenter of premium rate phone-in game shows on two commercial TV stations, VTM and 2BE, and discovered a variety of dodgy ploys to maximise revenue.
De Winne, who works for the public broadcaster VRT, used a hidden camera to film evidence of malpractice, which he revealed on the VRT television programme Basta.
He showed that the mathematical puzzles were all but impossible to solve and there were no checks on the age of players.
A government minister said tighter rules were essential, but if they did not work then Belgium should follow the example of the Netherlands by banning all TV phone-in games.
Source: Flandersnews.be
