China has slashed the amount of time minors can spend on online games, in its latest effort to control gaming addiction, which officials say is damaging to children’s health.
The country’s regulators on Monday said that those who are under 18 years can spend one hour on games on Fridays, weekends and holidays, Reuters reported.
Gamers under the age of 18 will only be able to play games from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time on those days, according to the report.
Online gaming companies are now required to put real name verification systems in place.
These companies are also prohibited from providing gaming services to minors outside the hours stated by the regulators, who warned that the companies would be strictly monitored to ensure compliance.
China had in November 2019 limited online gaming hour for minors to three hours on holidays and one and half hours on other days.
The latest regulation comes amid crackdown on big tech companies in the country.
China is one of the largest gaming markets in the world, although it has been critical of video games which it said have negative impact on young people.
The country in 2018 established a gaming regulator to limit number of new online games, restrict the amount and the time to be spent on gaming, as well as developing age restrictive system.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
