The Government of Vietnam has issued Decree 147/2024/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of the Internet and online information. The decree includes stricter regulations on limiting gameplay time for those under 18.

Specifically, game providers must implement technical systems to limit minors’ daily playtime to no more than 60 minutes per game and a total of 180 minutes across all games offered by a company.

Additionally, game publishers must display warnings such as “Playing for more than 180 minutes a day negatively affects your health” in prominent locations on game forums and on-screen every 30 minutes during gameplay.

Previously, Decree 27/2018/ND-CP only restricted gameplay time to 180 minutes for G1 games, which involve interactions between players via company-hosted servers.

The new decree expands these rules to all game types, including G1 (interactive online games), G2, G3, and G4 (offline and single-player games).

Speaking to VietNamNet, Chu Tuan Anh, Director of the International Programming Training System at Aptech, noted that many crimes committed by young people stem from game addiction.

"Game addiction creates a generation of fatigued youth lacking focus, knowledge, and skills, which ultimately affects the workforce and the nation’s economy," Tuan Anh stated.

Excessive gaming limits holistic development, reducing participation in sports and outdoor activities. Many developed countries have already implemented strict gaming regulations to address this issue. According to Tuan Anh, the new time restrictions introduced by the Vietnamese government are timely and necessary.

Vietnam could look to countries like China for guidance, where minors are restricted to just three hours of gameplay per week, limited to weekends and specific hours.

Tuan Anh also emphasized the need to ensure data security for both players and their guardians while enforcing these rules.

La Xuan Thang, Director of Online Game Publishing at VNGGames, explained the technical adjustments required to comply with the new regulations.

"Previously, minors were allowed up to 180 minutes per day per game. The new rule reduces this to 60 minutes per game and 180 minutes in total across all games from a single publisher. VNGGames will reconfigure its systems to ensure full compliance," Thang said.

The decree also introduces more refined age-based classifications for online games.

Thang noted this update as a significant step forward in gaming regulation, narrowing the age categories from the previous 12+ and 18+ to include a new 16+ group. This change allows players aged 16–18 to access games more appropriate for their maturity level.

Trong Dat