The Implications of China’s “Gaming Ban” for Esports

If you’re a gamer in China, enjoying your favorite hobbies probably just got a lot harder. That’s mostly down to the new restrictions the Chinese government implemented to combat “gaming addiction”, announced on 30th August via the “National Press and Publication Administration”, also called Xinhua.

What does it mean?

These new measures plan on limiting online gaming for minors to 3 hours per week, from 8 pm to 9 pm on Fridays, weekends, and holidays.

This comes as a follow-up to other government moves back in November 2019 when online gaming for minors was restricted to 1,5 hours on weekdays and 3 hours on weekends and holidays. Many concerns arose as to how the government is going to regulate these policies, but a system is already being put in place.

How does it work?

In order to create an account and game online in China, it was already necessary to give out your real name and personal ID information during the registration. The new measures also restrict gaming companies from providing access to anyone who doesn’t have a verified account. On top of that in July the government also implemented a new feature called “digital patrol” that uses facial recognition and functions between 10 pm and 6 am, to enforce the policies that were often neglected using multiple accounts. If the scan doesn’t match the photo identification document the user is automatically kicked from the game.

The new rules also limit how much money minors can spend on online games to 200 yuan ($29) a month for those between the ages of 8 and 16, and 400 yuan ($57) for those between the ages of 16 and 18.

Effects on the esports scene

These actions also carry consequences to China’s brimming eSports scene at a point where the video-game market is at an all-time high. In the LPL, the rookie mid-laner Creme for team OMG has been removed from the team’s roster on the official LPL page.

In the LDL, China’s lower-tier league that’s used for talent development, official playoff matches have been canceled and rescheduled, to give the teams time to adjust their rosters to the ruling that players under 18 cant play in pro play from now on. The teams are allowed to have 2 substitution players, but most of them can’t even field a complete roster following this ruling.

 

(Header image via LyncConf)