In 2002, tourists came to Greece anticipating sandy beaches and summer fun. What they did not expect was a 5,000 euro fine for playing a Gameboy.

Greek Law 3037, which prohibits the use of electronic and electrical games, wreaked havoc in the Greek gaming scene and cost tourists thousands of euros in fines.

The law was created in response to an illegal gambling scandal that involved electronic games doubling as gambling machines. Law 3037 targeted all games of any kind, labeling game enthusiasts as “criminals.” A judge in Thessaloniki declared the law unconstitutional in September 2002, but three years later the law continues to cause problems.

“This is the third time I’m going to court for this,” said Giorgos Michalopoulos, the manager of Bits and Bytes in Halandri. The internet café is now bare, all the computers confiscated by the police as evidence. Although Law 3037/2002 has been declared unconstitutional for violating one’s right to “free ideas,” the law still exists, meaning police can confiscate and take offenders to court, but they will not be found guilty as long their games are not of a gambling nature.

“It’s been three years now, we all know the law isn’t perfect, just stop wasting my time,” Michalopoulos continued. “I’m not worried about losing,” he added, citing cases which have all been overruled. The law, however, has not been overturned, serving as the only barrier to illegal gambling machines.

“Let me show you why the law can’t work,” said Michalopoulos, as he opened Excel on his laptop. After adjusting a setting, he clicked on the screen while holding down shift-control-alt. Excel transformed into a racing game. “This is a little secret they programmed in as a joke. But it’s a game, so that makes Excel illegal too.”

“With computers, there is always a way to do what you want,” he added. “The scandal surprised everyone because they never knew you could hide a slot machine game on a regular kid’s game.”

“That scandal is how the mess started in the first place,” said officer Kostas Libidis of Agia Paraskevi, citing the scandal with a PASOK politician and the electronic pacman/slot machine games.

According to Kathimerini, these games pose a problem to the government because “the government admitted it was incapable of distinguishing innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines.”

Many gamers are still concerned that this will continue to happen to all Internet cafes. But Libidis said, “We know what the law was supposed to do, and recognize the Gameboy and other games to be just toys.”

Although the Greek police act according to the law’s intended purpose, the European Union has been frowning ever since the law was enacted. The law is in violation of European Trade Policy because it prohibits the sale of goods that are produced by other EU countries.

The European Commission has warned the Greek government with several letters, and now case C-65/05 has been sent to the European Court of Justice, where a decision has been pending since February.