The rules, published by the National Press and
Publication Administration, said users 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 Xinhua news agency.
Online gaming companies will be barred from providing gaming
services to them in any form outside those hours and need to
ensure they have put real name verification systems in place,
said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games
market.
Previously, China limited the total length of time minors could
access online games to three hours on holiday or 1.5 hours on
other days.
The new rules come amid a broad crackdown by Beijing on China's
tech giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, which
has unnerved investors, hammering Chinese shares traded at home
and abroad.
The National Press and Publication Administration also told
Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of
inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were
putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.
(Reporting by Brenda GohEditing by Alison Williams and Mark
Potter)
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