According to the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), the agency coordinated with agencies to monitor, screen and block 667 fan pages and advertising gambling and betting games (95 percent) on Facebook so far this year.

It has also blocked more than 5,300 domain names related to the advertisement, organization, and gambling activities in cyberspace. Authorities have detected over 600 unlicensed gambling games on foreign app stores and requested intermediary payment service providers to halt payment connections.

Apple has removed 90 unlicensed games from App Store, and Google pulled down 294 unlicensed and gambling games distributed across the border into Vietnam from the Google Play store.

To strengthen inspection, examination, and handling of violations, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and local departments have checked 45 organizations and individuals.

It has found 10 violations and imposed fines totaling VND535 million for changing the server location for G1 electronic game services without timely notification; failing to provide G1 electronic game services without reporting in written documents to competent state agencies; providing G1 electronic game services without an approved game content script decision; and failing to meet technical requirements for providing G1 electronic game services.

In one case, the violator was forced to suspend operation for 1.5 months. In another, the penalty was suspension of the distribution of G1 games for two months.

According to ABEI, with the drastic measures taken, illegal games, gambling games, and illegal games have been basically stopped, creating a fair competitive environment.

However, many problems still exist. Licensed foreign sourced games still account for a large proportion. These include 14 percent of Vietnam made games and 81 percent of China made, while games from the US, South Korea and Japan account for 5 percent.

In reality, Vietnamese gaming firms primarily act as game publishers rather than developers, despite Vietnam's great potential in the field. That is why the contribution to the gaming sector development remains modest.

Many businesses have been found not complying with regulations in managing players’ information. Some don’t observe, or slowly follow, procedures in amending supplementing, or informing authorities about changes in their licenses or certifications. Some businesses do not submit periodic or sudden reports as required.

Under the newly released Decree 147 on managing, providing and using internet services and online information, service providers must have technical systems to manage playing time within one day for those under 18, limit the maximum playing time of 60 minutes for each game, and 180 minutes for all games that firms provide.

Trong Dat