Is Deal or No Deal (DOND) a Gambling or Just a Pure Game Show?

[Rubuchi]

I recently bumped into watching the Deal or No Deal in the BBC Brits channel at my friend's house and it got me thinking whether it should be classified as a gambling game or not because the contestants do not place bets with their own money but the entire game revolves around chances, risks and deciding whether to accept the banker's offer or continue with playing the game hoping for a bigger prize. When I had this discussion with my friend, it almost turned into an argument, he said it is not a gambling game and just a pure game show since it does not involve the player staking any money. He said this is what differentiates it from gambling substantially but I on the other hands believe that this DOND game shares same psychological elements with gambling such as the taking of high risks, chasing of higher rewards and making decisions under uncertainty. I believe these are the major things that define gambling. But this is just my opinion, I would like to hear from you, what's your own opinion when it comes to this game?

[Charles-Tim]

That game that there will be many boxes or saves they ladies will be holding that the one participant will be choosing from just to have a chance to win huge amount of money, but some people will later end up with small amount of money.

I do not know how the participants are selected. If the are selected to participate because they paid money, it is gambling. If they do not lay money to participates, it is not gambling.

Edit:
Participants have no payment to make.

The location to participate can be far which the participants have to pay for all expenses, but not part of the game. It is not gambling.

But left to the participants that have high travel expenses before he gets there to either see it as gambling or not.

[gracreavix]

I did a quick search and you are right about it mimicking gambling. It is based purely on luck and no skill. Gives the illusion that the player is in control. In as much money is not placed to bet. People can actually get addicted to it. The game surely mirrors gambling. But I would play it if I were to be picked to play. What's the worse thing that can happen?

[Ruttoshi]

I don't consider it as gambling but a show of giveaway that you must participate in a game of try your luck to make it look funky and attract more people to it.

I believe that there must be a sponsor and the participants don't have to pay a dime to partake in the game which means that they have nothing to lose therefore, I don't see it as gambling.

[lionheart78]

I recently bumped into watching the Deal or No Deal in the BBC Brits channel at my friend's house and it got me thinking whether it should be classified as a gambling game or not because the contestants do not place bets with their own money but the entire game revolves around chances, risks and deciding whether to accept the banker's offer or continue with playing the game hoping for a bigger prize. When I had this discussion with my friend, it almost turned into an argument, he said it is not a gambling game and just a pure game show since it does not involve the player staking any money. He said this is what differentiates it from gambling substantially but I on the other hands believe that this DOND game shares same psychological elements with gambling such as the taking of high risks, chasing of higher rewards and making decisions under uncertainty. I believe these are the major things that define gambling. But this is just my opinion, I would like to hear from you, what's your own opinion when it comes to this game?

To identify if the game is gambling or not is dependent whether the three factors are present:

Is there a Stake?
Is there a Chance?
Is there a Reward?

If any of this is missing, then it cannot be called a gambling game.

In Deal or No Deal game, there is no stake for the participants and since they don't spend any money from their packet while interacting on the game show.  Since there is no stake, we can then say that there is no risk for the participant to lose money. 

Yes Deal or No Deal is indeed a game of chance, but it does not contain the element of stake where people have to put their money on the line just to win a certain reward so it can be seen as not a gambling game.

I did a quick search and you are right about it mimicking gambling. It is based purely on luck and no skill. Gives the illusion that the player is in control. In as much money is not placed to bet. People can actually get addicted to it. The game surely mirrors gambling. But I would play it if I were to be picked to play. What's the worse thing that can happen?

Any game can be addictive but being addicting does not automatically label the game gambling.

[qwertyup23]

I did a quick search and you are right about it mimicking gambling. It is based purely on luck and no skill. Gives the illusion that the player is in control. In as much money is not placed to bet. People can actually get addicted to it. The game surely mirrors gambling. But I would play it if I were to be picked to play. What's the worse thing that can happen?

I agree with you! The one thing that really bothered me in this game is at the end. During the ending of the game (assuming you selected deal early on), the host would tell you that if you chose "no deal", the cash prize would've been "xxx" amount of money. While I understand that the dramatization of the game (e.g. the host calls the banker, discusses with him, etc.), everything just felt artificial at that point.

Well at the end of the day, there is still that element of risk where you play with "your" money that was offered to you. It does mimic gambling but there is absolutely no risk on your part given that you didn't stake any money. Like you mentioned, what's the worst thing that can happen? Winning the lowest amount still renders you a win- it's still free money!

Just avoid being greedy and if you feel like the money offered to you can at least answer your problems financially, then do not hesitate to cash-in early on.

[Charles-Tim]

Any game can be addictive but being addicting does not automatically label the game gambling.

There is nothing addictive about the deal or no deal. It is just a game in form of a show and I do not think anyone that participate ones will be able to participate again. So there is not addiction about the game.

If you want to understand the game show very well, you can just search for it on YouTube.

[Agbe]

Who is gambling and who is not gambling is another question in such case. For those who are involved in the game do not staking anything but just the fun, then it is not gambling for them but what about the audience? Are they also not staking on the game? If they do stake, for them it is gambling but if they are also just watching the game show, it is not gambling and that is why I asked the question in the first sentence.

[r_victory]

This show aired here in Brazil too, and to me, it has nothing to do with gambling. People sign up and are selected to participate; there is no payment whatsoever from the participants. It is simply a television program that rewards its participants while making a profit from advertising.

[Cryptomultiplier]

Since the emotional factor involved in gambling is present, the behavioral patterns and risk management loop that's involved in high stakes gambling is also evident, I could consider it as gambling no matter how beautifully they try to paint it.
The risk and reward tensions is there, and if course a player has to experience the thrill and excitement too that such games just as gambling, offers.

[Filicius]

It seems that the format has been sold in several countries. In Spain it is called Allá Tú (translated: you will see what you do) or popularly better known as "the box game", but it is a bit different since instead of models the numbers are held by other players, and every day one of them says goodbye to the others and becomes the participant.

Although it logically has a component of chance, I would not say that it is gambling, but as you are seeing in this thread, the issue gives rise to a lot of debate. I just think that in the Spanish format it is more clearly seen that it is not gambling, or at least it is more "camouflaged".

[cryptoaddictchie]

I recently bumped into watching the Deal or No Deal in the BBC Brits channel at my friend's house and it got me thinking whether it should be classified as a gambling game or not because the contestants do not place bets with their own money

I guess theres a lot of version of Deal or no Deal everywhere and I believed its all the same concept. A contestant pick a briefcase and play the game by choosing other cases in order to increase its stake by choosing lesser amount for multiplying bankers offer. I believed its not considered as gambling cause the fact that he dont stake or bet any money at all but purely a game show with potential earning by being a contestant.

[acroman08]

As far as I know, people who are contestants on that game show don't need to stake and risk any of their money in order to participate and win prizes, so no, I don't consider it as gambling. That being said, I do agree that the game does share the same psychological elements as gambling, even though you don't really stake or risk any of your money.

There are a lot of game shows that are similar to Deal or No Deal, and as long as they do not require contestants to pay money in order to join, then it is not gambling.

[BALIK]

he said it is not a gambling game and just a pure game show since it does not involve the player staking any money. He said this is what differentiates it from gambling substantially but I on the other hands believe that this DOND game shares same psychological elements with gambling such as the taking of high risks, chasing of higher rewards and making decisions under uncertainty. I believe these are the major things that define gambling. But this is just my opinion, I would like to hear from you, what's your own opinion when it comes to this game?

You are right. This game completely mimics the psychology of gambling. There is uncertainty as well as risk versus reward. It is also the emotional rollercoaster of deal or no deal. Even if you don't bet your own money the dopamine response in  brain is almost same.

However there are some significant differences from legal and practical perspective. There is no personal stake here. So in my view it would not be wrong to say that it is not real gambling. Rather I would like to call it something closer to a game show where you win a prize. Even then there is a possibility of addiction for some people.

[aioc]

I'm not a fan of the show; we have a local version of that show, but I occasionally watch it. The contestant has nothing to lose because there is no money of his own involved, but he has a chance to win a huge prize, the top prize being 1 million pesos in our currency. It's a game show for me, very popular shows on TV, the sponsors will provide the prizes, and contestants need to be lucky to get picked.

[yahoo62278]

I recently bumped into watching the Deal or No Deal in the BBC Brits channel at my friend's house and it got me thinking whether it should be classified as a gambling game or not because the contestants do not place bets with their own money but the entire game revolves around chances, risks and deciding whether to accept the banker's offer or continue with playing the game hoping for a bigger prize. When I had this discussion with my friend, it almost turned into an argument, he said it is not a gambling game and just a pure game show since it does not involve the player staking any money. He said this is what differentiates it from gambling substantially but I on the other hands believe that this DOND game shares same psychological elements with gambling such as the taking of high risks, chasing of higher rewards and making decisions under uncertainty. I believe these are the major things that define gambling. But this is just my opinion, I would like to hear from you, what's your own opinion when it comes to this game?

Anytime there is money at risk you are gambling. If they had to choose a case and take that case without all the extra, then it might just be considered a giveaway, but they choose a case and have the option to try to make choices for bigger money and bigger offers from the banker depending on what they open. 100% a gambling show IMO.

[Findingnemo]

!~
Participants have no payment to make.

The location to participate can be far which the participants have to pay for all expenses, but not part of the game. It is not gambling.

But left to the participants that have high travel expenses before he gets there to either see it as gambling or not.

I disagree, even if there is no money spent for the selection process, still it will go through lot of stages, and the one who is willing to participate have to spend weeks of their time just to give themselves a chance so surely there will be monetary loss for everyone else other than who is selected to play.

I watched the show and it is very old one, still it is being aired in any country?

[coin-investor]

It does have all the psychological elements of gambling, but without the player or contestant putting or risking their own money for a chance to win a prize, I don't think I can consider it gambling.
Money is an important factor in gambling; without it, it can be considered a game, and in this case, a pure game show for the viewers' entertainment.
This show is very popular in our country. If it is a gambling show, then the authorities will not allow it to be televised.

[lionheart78]

Any game can be addictive but being addicting does not automatically label the game gambling.

There is nothing addictive about the deal or no deal. It is just a game in form of a show and I do not think anyone that participate ones will be able to participate again. So there is not addiction about the game.

If you want to understand the game show very well, you can just search for it on YouTube.

I understand the game and watched it several times since it has a version of that in our country. Cropping an incomplete flow of conversation isn't fair, is it? T_T.  The reply is not basically pointed to the game Deal or no Deal but a reply to @gracreavix,

I did a quick search and you are right about it mimicking gambling. It is based purely on luck and no skill. Gives the illusion that the player is in control. In as much money is not placed to bet. People can actually get addicted to it. The game surely mirrors gambling. But I would play it if I were to be picked to play. What's the worse thing that can happen?

Any game can be addictive but being addicting does not automatically label the game gambling.

In addition, I agree that Deal or No Deal have gambling like mechanics since it has staking risk (the prize money) but I believe staking the prize money without any initial amount stake coming from the pocket  ofthe player cannot be considered a gambling because we all know in gambling the stake or risk should be in the player's part, but we all see that it is not apparent on this game show.

[robelneo]

People can actually get addicted to it.

Addicted to watching the show or addicted to playing? You can't just go to the show and say I like to play because you are addicted to it. It's a game show: you will have to line up, be interviewed, and be picked as a participant. I don't know of any casino that has this game.

The game surely mirrors gambling. But I would play it if I were to be picked to play. What's the worse thing that can happen?

The show is being broadcast in many countries. If it's a gambling show, then many countries will ban it, or it will be rated R. It's rated PG here in our country.