Deal or No Deal is an Australian game show which originally broadcast on the Seven Network from 13 July 2003 to 4 October 2013, hosted by Andrew O'Keefe. On 29 January 2024, a reboot series premiered on Network 10, hosted by Grant Denyer. It was the first international version of the game show, after the original from the Netherlands, and it was the first of the versions to use the Deal or No Deal name.
Many changes were made to Deal or No Deal during its run. These included, among others, changing from a weekly format to a daily format, which resulted in the reduction of the top prize from $2,000,000 to $200,000 in 2004; interactive features inviting home viewers to play along with "Double Deal Friday"; and additional special features added to the game (such as "Double or Nothing" and "Super Case"). The show included many special episodes including several hour-long prime-time specials (such as the "Test of the Psychics Special" and the "Unluckiest Players Special") and the Dancing with the Deals specials which cross-promoted Dancing with the Stars.
The last episodes for Seven were produced in September 2013, and it was announced in March 2014 that no new episodes would be produced for the network, though repeats continued airing at 5:00 pm weeknights until September 2015. In August 2015 it was announced that the show, along with companion game show Million Dollar Minute, would be axed and replaced by a new one-hour game show titled The Chase Australia.
In October 2023, it was announced that Network 10 would be reviving the series in 2024, with new host Grant Denyer. The revived version of the game show airs at 6:00 pm weeknights following the flagship 5:00 pm edition of 10 News First and as the lead-in program to The Project starting on 29 January 2024. On June 30, 2025, it was announced that the show will move at 7:00 pm. In October 2025, it was revealed that the show would move to 6:30 pm in 2026, and be followed by the reboot of Millionaire Hot Seat. This new format features 22 numbered briefcases instead of the traditional 26. The top prize for this edition is $100,000, while the Celebrity Jackpot version's top prize is $250,000, then later $200,000.
Format Weekly format
Preliminary rounds The game begins with 200 people in the audience divided into eight numbered "blocks" of 25. In the first round, the audience is divided into a red team (blocks 1–4) and a blue team (blocks 5–8). The players had to answer three multiple choice questions using keypads. Each correct answer scored their team a point, the team with the most points after the three questions moved on to the next round where the four blocks of the winning team played each other over three more questions. The block with the most points after this round moves onto "the podium". At this point, another player is selected at random from the remaining seven blocks to re-join the game.
The players on the podium play another round of trivia questions, this time playing individually. Players get points for correct answers equal to the number of players who answer incorrectly; for example, if 10 players answer correctly, that means 16 answered incorrectly, so the 10 players who answered correctly get 16 points each. In case of a tie, players are ranked by how quickly they lock in their answer. The two players with the highest score and/or fastest answers after five questions move on to "the Orb".
At the Orb, the two final players have to guess an answer with the help of up to six clues. The round is played in a sudden death style — if either player buzzes in and gives an incorrect answer or hesitates for too long, then their opponent wins and moves on to the main game.
Main game (Deal or No Deal round)
The last player is now asked to choose from 26 numbered briefcases which have had different dollar amounts placed in them (see Briefcase values and board layouts below). The remaining briefcases are distributed among the other 25 players from the podium round. The player must then select from those briefcases to be opened, beginning with six in the first round, each successive round choosing one less case until the sixth round when cases are chosen one at a time. After every round, the player receives an offer from "the Bank" who want to buy the player's case from them to stop them winning the value of their case. The player can choose to take the deal and take home the amount offered to them or decline the deal ("No Deal") and continue on to the next round. If the player decides to take the deal, the player continues selecting cases to find out if they made a good deal by selling for more than the value inside their chosen case. If the player makes it to the final two cases, then their case is opened and they win the value of their case.
As each briefcase is selected, the player holding it is asked to guess which of the remaining amounts is hidden in their case. If they are correct then they win an amount depending on which case selection round it is. In the first round, the prize for a correct guess is $6,000, but by the time the player is choosing one case at a time, the prize is $1,000.
Daily format
The game begins with 150 contenders divided into six numbered blocks of 25. One of these blocks gets chosen at random, along with one more player from any of the other five blocks, to play a preliminary quiz with three multiple-choice questions. The player with the most and/or fastest correct answers becomes the winner to play the main game. This was later changed to selecting one player with the other members of their block moves to the podium. The player then chooses their case and begins eliminating the other cases. The podium player receives a small if they guess the contents of their case correctly – this was $500 in the Channel 7 iteration and $250 in the Channel 10 iteration, unless there is a Mega Guess (Channel 7 iteration only) which could award amounts of $2000, $5000 or $10000. Some episodes may also include a voucher from Harvey Norman, which is automatically won if one of the cases has the Harvey Norman logo, or a subscription to Paramount+, which is only won if they get it right.
Later in the game, depending on the state of the game, a special feature may be offered by the Bank, see Features below.
History Deal or No Deal was based on the final game of Dutch game show (), created by Dick de Rijk for production company Endemol, that debuted on the show on 22 December 2002. was itself based on the German show () which started in 2000 and was shown in both Germany and the Netherlands. The revised format from 2002 was an instant hit and was extended from six to eight shows, which led to the executives of Endemol offering the format at MipTV 2003, an important annual television trade fair taking places in Cannes, France, where the Dutch host Linda de Mol presented a promotion version of the show. On 23 June 2003, it was confirmed that Andrew O'Keefe would host the game show. The Australian network Seven purchased the format, and the first episode was aired on 13 July 2003, making it the first international adaptation of the Dutch show. Curiously, the show debuted on the same day when the Argentinian version hosted by Julian Weich was launched.
The first Australian version was an hour-long program shown on Sunday nights at 7:30 pm. It indirectly competed with the Nine Network's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? by offering a maximum prize of AU$2 million, doubling its rival's cash prize. The version also operated in a rolling format, much like Millionaire, whereby contestants who are unable to complete their game prior to the episode time expiring return in the following episode; for example, Nathan Cochrane, who progressed to the main game in the second episode, returned in third episode, where he won $515,000 the biggest amount of money won on the Australian version, and at the time was the biggest amount won on any Australian game show.
On 2 February 2004, the show was relaunched as a half-hour format and moved to weeknights at 5:30 pm, directly competing against Nine's The Price Is Right. This version was more successful, due to the increased number of episodes airing (five per week compared to the previous one per week). The maximum prize was lowered from $2 million to $200,000 and the number of potential players reduced from 200 to 150 (six blocks of 25 instead of eight blocks). The preliminary game was also shortened—one block was selected at random as well as one more player selected at random. A short trivia quiz game was played to determine who would progress to the main game. The players left on the podium holding the unselected cases would be given be an opportunity to win $1,000 (later $500) by correctly guessing the contents of their case.
In the summer of 2004, several hour-long primetime specials were aired in addition to the regular 5:30 pm episodes. These specials were shown at 7:30 pm on Tuesday nights and raised the maximum prize back to $2 million and used a modified version of the 2003 board (see "Primetime specials" below). These special editions included "Biggest Winners – Dream Team", "Conflict of the Couples", "Unluckiest Players" and "Test of the Psychics". These specials aired after the 2004 Athens Olympics which replaced Deal or No Deal in August. Each show featured 26 contenders (or 13 couples in case of the "Conflict of the Couples" special) playing a preliminary quiz in order to determine who would go on to play for the top prize. Three of these special episodes (Conflict of the Couples, Unluckiest Players and Biggest Winners) brought the Orb round back where the two best players (or couples) had to guess an answer with the help of up to six clues in order to proceed to the main game. Several prime time specials also had special features: In the "Test of the Psychics" show, the winner was given a scarf which was hidden in the $2 million case and had to use their psychic abilities to work out which case was hiding the top prize. In "Conflict of the Couples", the winning couple was able to choose two cases but was forced to reject one of them after the first bank offer. The amount won in the "Biggest Winners - Dream Team" special was also won by a home winner who took part in an SMS competition. Shortly after these special episodes, the popularity of the show began to rise. In order to win the ratings The Price Is Right altered its showcase format to force contestants to choose between cash incentives or to continue playing the showcase. Despite this change, Deal or No Deal continued to grow in popularity, which contributed to the ratings surge of Seven News which followed directly afterwards. This popularity led Nine to cancel game shows such as The Price Is Right, Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune and the half-hour version of Millionaire titled Millionaire: Superseason. However, the ratings of Deal or No Deal later dropped due to the popularity of Millionaire Hot Seat.
Many alterations have been made to the game since its debut, including the briefcase values (see Briefcase values and board layouts below) and the addition of new gameplay features (see Features below). The Super Case, Chance and Mega-Guess features were introduced during 2004's $12 Million Month, and have become recurring segments since. A car prize was introduced in 2005, replacing the $25,000 prize from the 2004 board. Cars featured have included the Peugeot 307 from 2005 to 2007 (briefly replaced by the Renault Mégane II in 2005), the Peugeot 306 in 2008, the Peugeot 207 in 2009, the Peugeot 206 in 2010 and the Peugeot 207CC from 2011 to 2013, all of which were valued over $30,000. The feature Double or Nothing was introduced in 2006, while in 2007 the preliminary quiz was dropped altogether. Double Deal Friday was removed from 2008.