According to Vietnam News, an English-language daily and government news outlet, the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communication will be forcing ISPs to block online gaming between 10 pm and 8 am throughout the Communist nation.

 

Starting on 3 March, the ban is being justified on the grounds that it will “mitigate the side effects of online games.” It didn't elaborate as to what these side effects were.

 

Internet gaming parlors (internet cafes) popular throughout much of Asia will be especially hard hit by the new ban. The paper went on to state that ISPs or cafe owners who did not co-operate with the new regulations would be dealt with. “Provincial departments of information and communication will inspect online games activities nationwide and deal with organizations that violate regulations by cancelling their services,” said the ministry's deputy minister Le Nam Thang.

 

The new regulations follows a number of strict measures imposed by the Vietnamese government to try and control their population's gaming habits, including cutting internet access to gaming parlors at night starting last September.

 

VTC Intercom and Asiasoft, two online game service providers in the country said that the blocks reduces entertainment access to adults who have paid a lot for their internet privileges.

 

The ministry stated that the current measures are only temporary, with plans to issue a more comprehensive decree later this year.

 

Vietnam currently houses 23 million internet users, a good number of which enjoys some after-work online gaming to relax.