TV sweepstakes: Federal Court confirms number revocation

The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that the TV competitions on Sat.1 Switzerland, Viva Switzerland and Start TV, which have since been discontinued, are illegal. It has thus confirmed the revocation of three value-added service numbers by the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) and dismissed an appeal by the operating company, reports the news agency SDA. As part of the competitions, viewers were asked to dial one of the displayed numbers, whereupon some were called back and could give an answer to the question posed. Meanwhile, it was also possible to participate via postcard, but this was not associated with the same chances of winning. The Lausanne judges described this circumstance as a "lottery-like event". They also criticized the fact that unclear and misleading information had been provided regarding the call fee. In 2005, the Zurich Statthalteramt opened proceedings and confiscated the winnings.