Quite a number of "SMS competitions" have come close to crossing the line before, but the latest from Astro has definitely gone into the "no-no land" of gambling.
It works like this: Astro puts an item up for "bidding", in this case, an item from Sony in "celebration" of its 10th Anniversary. Through a minimum of 2 SMS, each costing RM1, contestants answer 1 question correctly, then enter their bid. The idea is to bid a low figure for the item, if your bid happens to be the lowest, unique bid, then you win the item, presumably for free (not at the price you bid).
Seems like a RM2 one-armed bandit to me, absolutely no different from its more famous cousins in the casinos. Now, when did Astro get a license to open a gambling parlour?
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