36 online games companies fined for breaking regulations

More than 30 Chinese online game companies have been fined following a two-month investigation by the Culture Ministry, it was announced on Monday.

Of the 36 companies involved, the majority had broken existing internet regulations by promoting gambling, or pornographic or violent content, according to Liu Qiang, deputy director of the ministry’s cultural market department.

The ministry randomly selected about 200 online games companies to scrutinize, accounting for 13 percent of the industry, Liu said.

Investigations will be conducted on a regular basis from now on and extended to online music and live broadcasts, said Chen Tong, director of the cultural market department.

According to data from China Internet Network Information Center, there were 380 million online games players in China by the end of June 2015.