Chinese government further restricts online gambling hours for minors

Chinese government further restricts online gambling hours for minors

Beijing, Sept. 4, 2021

China limits online gaming for minors to three hours per week.

On Fridays, weekends and holidays, minors will only be allowed to play between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

China had already limited underage gaming to 1.5 hours per day in 2019.

The new rules will force all online gamers to connect with China’s anti-addiction program and mean companies cannot offer services to their users without real-name registration.

Chinese regulators will also work with parents, schools and other groups to combat gambling addiction among minors. The tightening of gaming restrictions is a continuation of China’s crackdown on the technology sector, which has wiped out $1 trillion worth of stock prices worldwide.

Tencent ventured forward by pointing out that underage gambling accounts for only 3% of revenue in China.