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| Vietnamese representative Team Fancy United Esports at the APAC Predator League 2026 __Photo: VNA |
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is working to revise Government Decree 147 of 2024, with proposed changes focusing on the regulation of video games used in e-sports competitions, improvements to age rating criteria and stronger requirements for enterprises to disclose age classification results so that players and parents can easily identify suitable content.
Standardising definition of online e-sports games
Following public consultations, particularly with technology companies involved in game development, the ministry proposes defining online e-sports games as video games formally certified for use in official e-sports competitions by competent state authorities in charge of electronic information.
To qualify, games would have to meet the criteria and requirements and undergo the procedures within the timeframes prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The proposal is intended to ensure that the recognition of e-sports games complies with the law on physical training and sports. According to the ministry, games would no longer automatically qualify as e-sports games simply because they are selected by game publishers or tournament organisers.
To encourage domestic enterprises to invest in online games featuring historical and educational content, the draft would allow developers to conduct pilot releases without obtaining a licence.
The draft also proposes financial incentives, including a two-year corporate income tax exemption followed by a 50-per cent reduction for the subsequent four years on income derived from the production and development of eligible games.
Experts and scientists directly involved in developing cultural and educational games would also be eligible for personal income tax incentives. In addition to tax relief, the State would support the distribution of such products on global app stores and prioritise their inclusion in national branding and trade promotion programmes at home and abroad.
Playing-time restrictions for users under 16
Under Decree 147, players under 18 are currently limited to 60 minutes per game and no more than 180 minutes a day across all games. The draft decree proposes applying playing-time restrictions to users under 16.
Accordingly, game publishers would be required to install technical systems to manage the playing time of users in this age group. Under-16 players would be limited to a maximum of 60 minutes a day across all age-appropriate games provided by the same publisher.
Parents or legal guardians would be required to register accounts on behalf of children and take responsibility for monitoring both their playing time and the content they access.
The draft would require game publishers to store comprehensive user information in Viet Nam, including full names, dates of birth and verified telephone numbers. User registration and account verification would be mandatory, except trial accounts.
All video games would have to prominently display their age ratings and the health warning: “Playing games for more than 180 minutes a day will adversely affect your health.” The warning would have to appear continuously on promotional websites and login screens and reappear every 30 minutes during gameplay for at least 10 seconds.
The draft would also prohibit games containing images, sounds or language depicting terrorism, murder, torture, abuse, trafficking in women and children, incitement to suicide, violence, pornography, obscenity, distortion of history, infringement of national sovereignty, drug or alcohol abuse, tobacco use, gambling or other unlawful activities.
Publishers would be required to disclose age classification ratings before releasing games, enabling players and parents to identify age-appropriate content more easily.- (VLLF)
