Vietnam Decision 147/2024/NĐ-CP and its impact on the country’s gaming market

Background

On November 9, 2024, the Vietnamese government issued Decision 147/2024/ND-CPeffective December 25 2024, regarding the management, provision and use of internet services and online information, which will have a significant impact on the country’s internet industry, including gaming. This decision affects property rights issued in Vietnam, namely property rights developed domestically by Vietnamese companies or domestically by foreign companies. This decision will also cover games on Google Play, Apple’s App Store, and console markets.

Vietnam is the third most populous country in Southeast Asia and is home to the second largest number of gamers in the region, with Niko Partners forecasting this figure to reach 55.2 million by 2024. The country is also renowned as the only country in Southeast Asia. where mobile and PC gaming revenues are relatively equal, with other countries in the region dominated by mobile gaming. However, Vietnam also has some of the most complex regulations for game publishing in the region, with regulations including different game classification systems, government censorship, and foreign game publishers being required to find local partners and open representative offices in the country.

In this blog post, we analyze the important changes noted in it Decision 147/2024/ND-CPincluding game classification and censorship, time limits for minors, licensing processes, rules for real money virtual goods, and payment systems.

What does this new decision mean for companies publishing games in Vietnam?

1. Stricter censorship.
2. The game licensing process time is shorter.
3. Time restrictions for minors now apply to all games, not just online multiplayer games.
4. Real money gaming and web3/NFT titles may be equated with illegal gambling.
5. Payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers are no longer legally required to be located in Vietnam to connect with domestic online gaming service providers.

Game Classification/Censorship

First, we note the existence of a replacement for this latest SK Decree 27/2018/NĐ-CP which is the main regulatory document for online games in 2018-2024. Under Article 38 of the new regulations, online video games will be classified according to the following age groups:

a) Games for players aged 18 and over (denoted as 18+): Games in this category may not contain pornographic activity, images, sounds, language or dialogue. In fighting or competitive games, realistic depictions of weapons and human-like characters may be included.

b) Games for players aged 16 and over (denoted as 16+): These games must exclude pornographic content, close-ups of sensitive body parts, and any fight scenes depicting explicit violence.

c) Games for players 12 years of age and older (denoted as 12+): This game is prohibited from containing sexually suggestive or revealing characters, close-up images of sensitive body parts, or any adult-oriented language or dialogue. Fighting, if any, should use animated characters, non-humans, or unrealistic depictions of humans, and use weapons only in animated form, with limited close-up effects and restrained fighting sounds.

d) Games suitable for all ages (denoted by 00+): Games must be cartoonish, without gun-based combat, horror elements, or violent and frightening images. They should exclude characters, sounds, language, dialogue, and close-up images that are sexually suggestive or reveal things that highlight sensitive areas of the body.

Please note that point (b) is a new addition as Decision 27/2018/ND-CP does not contain guidelines for classifying online video games for players aged 16+.

In addition to the above, the new ruling now clearly states that the game contains Erotic/pornographic content is prohibited in Vietnam for all ageseven for players aged 18+. Furthermore, the game content and script are subject to stricter censorship according to Article 8, Law 24/2018/QH14 concerning Cyber ​​Securityinvolving political and explicit content. Violating Article 8 of Law 24/2018/QH14 concerning Cyber ​​Security will result in execution Article 47 New decisionwhich concerns the temporary suspension of services for providing and publishing online electronic game services as well as the revocation of permits for the operation of online electronic game services.

Time Limits for Minors

According to Article 37, Section 3, Chapter III, games are also classified based on the player’s interactions with other players and the game server:

G1 games include electronic games that have interaction between multiple players via the company’s game server system (i.e., live service online multiplayer games).

G2 games include electronic games that have interaction only between the player and the company’s game server system (i.e., online single-player games).

G3 games include electronic games that have interaction between multiple players without interaction between the players and the company’s game server system (i.e., offline multiplayer games).

G4 games include electronic games downloaded from the Internet without interaction between players and between players and the game server system (i.e., offline single-player games).

Previously, below Decision 27/2018/ND-CPGuidelines, players under 18 are rlimited to 180 minutes daily for G1 gaming (for all G1 games, not just the title). But now, the new guidelines expand the time limits for minors to include all game categories and add a 60-minute gameplay session limit. This means that players under 18 are now limited to playing no more than 60 minutes per game session (for a single game) and no more than 180 minutes per day for all games (including G2, G3, and G4 games that previously had no sessions games). any time limits). Game publishers are expected to comply with and set their own time limits. The time limit rule is designed to prevent the problem of video game addiction among minors. We note that so far, no players or publishers have been penalized for violating existing time limit rules.

Game Licensing Process

Prior to the enactment of this new decree, the provision of cross-border online games in Vietnam was already prohibited, and foreign game publishers were required to set up local offices in the country to provide gaming services. However, this new decision has halved the work time and completion time of game licensing procedures. This is expected to benefit foreign game studios, developers and publishers in terms of costs and paperwork. The new decree also frames these regulations in a clearer form as their provisions are categorized into separate articles, which will make it easier for foreign entities to find and comply with the regulations. We note that PC gaming platform Steam has been restricted in the country since early May 2024 primarily due to the platform’s failure to comply with local licensing regulations.

Virtual Goods-Real Money Rule

Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 37 of this new Decree are also new additions:

Paragraph 4, Article 37, Decision 147/2024/ND-CP states that “virtual items, virtual units and reward points can only be used within the scope of online gaming and for the purposes reported by the company. These items may not be exchanged for cash, prepaid mobile telecommunications service cards, bank cards, shopping vouchers, game cards, gift cards, or any other tangible item that has transaction value outside of online gaming.”

Paragraph 5, Article 37, Decision 147/2024/ND-CP states that “buying and selling virtual items, virtual units, and reward points between players is not allowed.”

In our opinion, the above clause further strengthens the notion that games related to real money/gambling or gambling simulation games are prohibited in Vietnam. We also note that this clause may cause significant pressure/impact on Web3/NFT games in the long term due to the blurring of the line between NFT-related game items or cryptocurrencies and real money.

Payment system

According to point (d), Paragraph 1, Article 39, Decree 147/2024/NĐ-CP, payments can now be made through payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers who are no longer legally required to be located in Vietnam. However, they must still comply with Vietnamese law, ensuring proper and complete updating and storage of payment information. This opens up opportunities for foreign payment companies looking to expand their business to Vietnam.

Reactions to Decree 147/2024/NĐ-CP were mixed, with some praising the government for addressing problems caused by long playing times and making it easier to publish games in the country. However, there are also those who state that the current system of recording, storing and updating information will not function normally when this decision comes into effect.

About Niko’s Coverage in Vietnam

Vietnam is one of six leading video game markets in Southeast Asia tracked by Niko Partners for more than a decade. Dive deeper into this market through our SEA-6 Games Market Report Series and get regular checks on the industry through Niko Value Added News Analysis (VANA), now on NikoIQ, our online intelligence

Author: Hung Tang