China Bans Foreign Investment in the Online Gaming Industry

Though the online gambling laws in China have not been directly amended, the new bans placed on foreign investment in the Chinese online gaming industry do directly affect gamblers. Over the past week Chinese government regulators banned foreign investment in their domestic industry. 카지노사이트

China’s policy on online gambling is very similar to that which is currently in place in the US. It’s illegal within the country but accessible through foreign sites. There are many sites available to Chinese players and there are even a few that directly cater to them with traditional and modern Chinese.

The Chinese Government tries to control online gamblers by threatening them with hefty fines and extensive prison sentences but, as is the case in the US, these laws are very difficult to enforce due to the general difficulty of following internet traffic. As they say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and in China there is a BIG will.

Chinese officials are some of the most animated gamblers. One example is Li Weimin, the mayor of a small city in Guangdong who lost more than 90 million Yuan gambling between 1998 and 2004. According to Asia Times, “A 2008 study of 99 high rollers from mainland China showed that 59 had some sort of state affiliation.”

The new ban on foreign investments is far from simple. Not only are direct foreign investments blocked, investors are also banned from “indirectly influencing” Chinese online game companies by providing technical support or signing relevant contracts.

The General Administration of Press and Publication is the department that is in charge of this ban in conjunction with the department of Culture. Some of the games released by foreign investors were considered to be morally objectable. Online casinos and gambling were included in a grouping of unhealthy content also including violence, crime and pornography.

China has banned foreign investment into its lucrative online games industry in an effort to tighten control over its virtual worlds.바카라사이트

China’s video game industry regulator the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and copyright watchdog issued a circular on Saturday prohibiting foreign investment in domestic online gaming operations through joint ventures, wholly owned enterprises and cooperatives.

The new directive also disallows foreign firms from indirectly influencing Chinese gaming firms through agreements or technology support.

China’s online gaming market is one of the world’s fastest growing, with sales expected to rise 30 to 50 percent this year to 24 billion yuan to 27 billion yuan ($3.5-4 billion) according to GAPP.

Chinese game developer NetEase.com won earlier this year the license to operate within China Activision Blizzard’s blockbuster game, World of Warcraft.

Their tie-up ran into problems with regulators who were concerned about their joint venture for Blizzard to provide technical support to NetEase.

China has banned foreign investment into its lucrative online games industry in an effort to tighten control over its virtual worlds.

China's video game industry regulator the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and copyright watchdog issued a circular on Saturday prohibiting foreign investment in domestic online gaming operations through joint ventures, wholly owned enterprises and cooperatives.

The new directive also disallows foreign firms from indirectly influencing Chinese gaming firms through agreements or technology support.

China's online gaming market is one of the world's fastest growing, with sales expected to rise 30 to 50 percent this year to 24 billion yuan to 27 billion yuan ($3.5-4 billion) according to GAPP.

Earlier this week, there was a bit of a ruckus over a mandate that was released over the weekend by the Chinese General Administration of Press and Publication and the National Copyright Administration, which suggested that foreign investors would be barred from taking stakes in China’s online game market players in virtually any form.

The circular, jointly released by the GAPP and the copyrights association said overseas bodies would be banned from investment in China’s online game operations through setting up wholly owned enterprises, joint ventures and cooperatives.

Heck, it even said foreign businesses would be prohibited from joining and controlling Chinese enterprises’ online game operations by indirect means like contracting relevant agreements or offering technological support. The new restrictions would be pure protectionism, as it would require governmental approval for all new games launched within China.온라인카지노