Deal or No Deal may be forced to move to a post-watershed slot amid concerns that it constitutes gambling.

Channel 4 executives are to meet with the Gambling Commission after it was suggested that the Noel Edmonds gameshow could be breaking the law in its current timeslot because it does not involve an element of skill.

Simon Cowell's Red or Black? - which was recently renewed for a second series - could also be under threat, since non-skill games played for money require a gambling licence.

On Deal or No Deal, a government source apparently told the Daily Mail: "The Gambling Commission does not seem to think that there is any skill element to the show.

"Even though at the beginning of the show, contestants do not have to stake any of their own money, the argument is that once they've picked a box, which could contain a lot of cash, in subsequent rounds they are in effect gambling with their own money."

Sir Peter Bazalgette - the former chief creative officer of Deal or No Deal production company Endemol - warned that any ban could have far-reaching implications for television.

"Whatever the letter of the law in regard to television entertainment the sensible position here is that with Deal or No Deal you have a gameshow that has been on air in more than 50 countries around the world. In some of those territories gambling is illegal, but the gameshow is still allowed on TV," he told The Guardian.

"It would be very strange if the UK suddenly decided you couldn't have Deal or No Deal on air."

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "Channel 4 has been contacted by the Gambling Commission about the popular long-running series Deal or No Deal, but it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

> Noel Edmonds: 'Deal or No Deal changes people's lives'

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