China is reducing the amount of time children can spend playing online

SHANGHAI, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Chinese regulators on Monday cut back on the amount of time players under the age of 18 can spend in online games up to an hour of play on Fridays, weekends and holidays in response to growing concern about gambling addiction, state reported the media.

The rules, published by the National Press and Publications Administration, state that users under the age of 18 will only be able to play games from 8pm to 9pm local time these days, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Online gaming companies will be prohibited from providing gaming services in any form outside of these hours and will have to ensure that they have established real-name verification systems, said the regulator, which oversees the country’s video game market. .

Previously, China limited the total time minors could access online games to three hours of vacation or 1.5 hours the other days.

The new rules come amid widespread crackdown by Beijing on China’s technology giants such as Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), which has upset investors, marking Chinese stocks that are they negotiate at home and abroad. Read more

The National Press and Publications Administration also told Xinhua that it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to make sure they set time limits and anti-addiction systems.

Report by Brenda Goh Edited by Alison Williams and Mark Potter

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