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The consultation, launched this week, will seek to define whether participation competitions on shows such as Channel 4's 'Richard & Judy' and ITV 1's 'This Morning' are based on skill, or are simply "lotteries", adding to the revenues gained from running participation through premium rate phone lines. Without the revenue gained from competition lines, which can have very easy questions with obvious answers, channels like ITV Play might struggle.

The body says that "the skill element must either deter a significant proportion from entering or eliminate a significant proportion of those who do", meaning that regulations on entry into competitions would be more strictly enforced than the current model.

The commission will argue that there is a need for a significant skill-based question that eliminates a significant proportion of those who wish to enter.

Tom Kavanagh, deputy chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: "Prize competitions and free draws are, and will remain under the 2005 Gambling Act, free of statutory regulatory control. We are not out to stop people enjoying properly run competitions.

"But the current law is unclear on the distinction between lotteries, prize competitions and free draws. This results in some organisers running what may well be unregulated and unlicensed lotteries. The new act seeks to clarify the distinction and the commission will be expected to monitor the boundary between lotteries and competitions and take action where there are genuine and major concerns.

"This is, at this stage, a discussion document and the commission looks forward to feedback from organisers of competitions relating to this area of the new act."

Last month, media regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into phone-in TV quiz shows such as 'Quizmania' on ITV Play after a significant number of viewers complained about the cost of the premium rate calls to enter the prize draws, and the low difficulty level of the entry questions.

A spokeswoman for ITV, said: "We welcome clear guidelines and frameworks and we welcome this consultation. ITV takes its position as responsible broadcaster extremely seriously and ITV Play's practices well exceed current guidelines."

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