VietNamNet Bridge – Outdated regulations covering on-line games are causing difficulties for on-line game providers, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Statistics of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information showed that 117 games were licensed in Viet Nam, 44 of which were closed.

Nguyen Van Hung, the ministry's office chief, said the halt, and evaluation and licensing, of on-line games since October 2010 had caused a flood of unlicensed games in the market.

Hung said because game licensing remained tight, companies were providing unlicensed games to meet the huge demand of players and to maintain their existence in the market.

This also caused unfair competition among game companies, experts said at a ministry conference held on Wednesday in Ha Noi which aimed for better management measures.

Statistics of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information showed that 117 games were licensed in Viet Nam, 44 of which were closed.

However, unlicensed games were estimated to number in the hundreds, provided through the internet, and thousands via social networks and smart phone applications.

In the 2011-12 period, 14 on-line game providers were fined a total amount of VND577 million (US$24,400). Inspection found that all game companies had at least one game provided without licensing.

Also, the evaluation process was no longer appropriate, said Hung, pointing out that one of the compulsory requirements for the games to be licensed was that companies must have the Vietnamese version, which could be obtained after companies finished the payments to their partners.

However, the companies were not sure if the games would be licensed due to the lack of detailed standards, causing companies to risk losing money for the Vietnamese version if the game was not licensed or was still providing the games without a licence.

According to Nguyen Lam Thanh from the Viet Nam Digital Communication Association, the flood of unlicensed games was due to policies lagging behind the market, adding that the current regulations failed to cover all on-line entertainment forms, including games.

FPT On-line, a game provider, called for early amendments of regulations to create legal frameworks for game company operations and long-term measures for the development of on-line games in Viet Nam.

According to the ministry's Inspection Department, a council in charge of evaluating and licensing games should be set up and licensing should be continued for games which met standards.

A representative from HCM City's Department of Information and Communications, said a database about on-line games should be set up for better control while measures to manage payments were necessary.

Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan estimated there were more than 70 game documents waiting for licences.

Source: VNS