New Chinese internet laws to ban online gambling

The first of this month saw another landmark in the development of the continually changing internet. The beginning of the month saw China’s latest attempt to control what its citizens have access to over the internet. The Chinese government is claiming that the new laws which were introduced on August 1st are essential to protecting the younger generations of the country from “unwholesome content and internet addiction”.

According to news in China and abroad the law is specific in stating that online games which are designed for minors must not contain any content which could lead them to imitate behavior which would be against social moral codes and the law.

Players must register their real names online and have their age verified and a time limit placed on their play. According to the new laws any game that is morally questionable will be banned, this of course includes casino games and card games. This kind of blanket ruling would suggest that the Chinese government is worried by the large amount of people who enjoy online gaming in China.

In 2009 it was estimated that the market value of the online gambling industry in China was almost $3.8 billion. All this money will have been spent online without the Chinese tax departments receiving any of it.

The new laws were drafted by the Ministry of Culture in June, they state that in order for a online gaming company to receive a license they must have a minimum registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.48 million). Recently China banned the use of virtual currencies which caused a dramatic slowdown in the money bet by youth in China.

According to Zhao Xufeng, a gaming analyst in Shanghai who works for IT consulting firm iResearch said that he does not this that the rel name policy will keep children off the internet even though they are not usually issued with their ID cards until after they have turned 16. He expects the restrictions to work only until hackers have found a way around the system.