VZCZCXRO0356
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0024/01 0051021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051021Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4266
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 2337
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS and DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI VM
SUBJECT: GVN Struggles to Enforce Internet Gaming Regulations 
 
Ref: 06 HCMC 1144 
 
HANOI 00000024  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) GVN regulations established to rein in online gaming by 
young people are for the most part ignored by both gamers and 
Internet cafe owners.  The GVN's inability to adequately enforce its 
online gaming regulations reveals the broader challenges it faces in 
its attempts to manage the Internet and how Vietnamese citizens use 
the network.  End Summary. 
 
Vietnamese Gaming 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) At present, Vietnam has nine online game providers that 
serve an estimated total of over two million players.  The most 
popular game, a historical warfare game called "Vo Lam Truyen Ky," 
has around 250,000 players.  Most online gamers are urban university 
and middle and high school students, some of whom cut class and stay 
out late to play online games.  The National Assembly took up the 
issue in November 2005 when a number of legislators lamented the 
growing number of young people regularly playing online games and 
called on the Government to take action.  Sensationalist articles in 
local newspapers have also highlighted cases in which juvenile 
delinquents go on murderous rampages or robbery sprees "because of 
their addiction to online games." 
 
Attempts at Regulation 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The GVN's regulations on the management of online games 
came into effect on July 1, 2006.  The joint responsibility of the 
Ministries of Culture and Information (MOCI), Posts and Telematics 
(MPT) and Public Security (MPS), the regulations are aimed at online 
game providers, Internet cafe owners and the gamers themselves.  For 
example, online games providers have to meet a number of content and 
technical requirements and will receive a license only after being 
vetted by MOCI (content) and MPT and MPS (technical aspects). 
 
¶4. (SBU) Internet cafe owners must now maintain records of all 
gamers (and, for that matter, other users) for 30 days, including 
their address, ID number and family information.  They must also 
invest close to USD 2,500 for a special server that can monitor 
gamers' activities.  The regulations also require that Internet 
cafes close at 11:00 p.m. and prohibits them from being within 200 
meters of schools.  Online game providers are also supposed to 
ensure that a gamer's virtual character will only be able to earn 
half the normal amount of points after three hours of play.  After 
five hours of play, the player's bonus points will be zero. 
Finally, the regulations require that online players under the age 
of 14 be accompanied by an adult. 
 
GVN Out of Quarters 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In an unscientific survey of gamers and Internet cafe 
owners, we found that most appeared to be ignoring the regulations. 
There were few if any restrictions on the age of gamers or the 
number of hours they played, and many cafes stay open past 11:00 
p.m. (and in some cases operate 24/7).  No cafes we visited required 
gamers to provide their personal information.  According to a number 
of Internet caf owners, the USD 2,500 required for the new server 
is "just too much," and they get by with their old servers that lack 
the capacity to monitor users' behavior. 
 
¶6. (SBU) GVN officials recognize there is a problem.  A MOCI 
official in charge of censoring game content and granting licenses 
told us that the GVN could better and that her ministry, MPT and MPS 
need to coordinate better to ensure that both online game providers 
and Internet cafes are following the regulations.  Striking a more 
pessimistic tone, an official from MPT's Informatics Department told 
us that the new regulations have not been properly and strictly 
implemented and "will likely end up nowhere." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The GVN's inability to adequately enforce its online gaming 
regulations reveals the broader challenges it faces in its attempts 
to manage the Internet and how Vietnamese citizens use the network. 
No doubt Government enthusiasm for enforcing Internet-related 
regulations is greater when it comes to cracking down on use of the 
Internet to advance political and dissident causes.  However, the 
case of online gaming is notable in that it shows that the web's 
continually evolving technology, combined with ambivalent Internet 
cafe owners and netizens, has created a situation in which the GVN's 
authority is regularly flaunted and its regulations are unenforced. 
End Comment. 
 
HANOI 00000024  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
ALOISI