China to limit online video games for minors to just three hours per week

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• China to limit online video games for minors to just three hours per week

It's the end game for video games in China most days of the week if you're underage. China will soon ban children, anyone under the age of 18, from playing online video games for more than three hours a week. Under the new rules, online gaming companies in China can only serve minors for one hour a day between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. Online gambling on other days and at other times is strictly prohibited for minors, according to CNBC. China is home to highly successful online gaming companies like Tencent and NetEase, which will be forced to deal with the new restrictions. The rules appeared in an article in China's National Press and Publication Administration on Monday. The Chinese government is also forcing game companies to use real name registration and login. This requirement would prevent children and adolescents from circumventing the restrictions by using alternate accounts with false ages.

Restrictive or productive?

China's opinion defines the measure as a way to address addiction to video games and prioritize the mental and physical health of children. In 2019, the World Health Organization added gambling disorder to its list of closed conditions. This controversial decision has been questioned not only by gamers and video game companies, but also by an important part of the scientific community, which has described it as "incitement to pathologize video games." China has a long history of restricting the use of video games. In 2019, it adopted a less strict set of rules, allowing kids under 18 to play up to 90 minutes of games on most days. In 2000, the country banned the sale and manufacture of game consoles, citing similar concerns about children's health. It only lifted this restriction in 2015.