New i-Cafe and Internet Policies in China

New i-Cafe and Internet Policies

China’s Ministry of Culture, Business Administration Department, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry, jointly issued a “Notice of strengthening law enforcement supervision, improving management polices, promoting the health and orderly development of the Internet service.” Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture also issued “Views about promoting Internet service industry transformation and upgrading.” These notices are trying to improve the Internet service management and loosen the iCafe censorship to reduce barriers to entry. Details include:
Remove the control over the total number of iCafes that can be operated in the country.
No limitation on the total number of computers in new stores (No longer need to have at least 100 computers and 100 square meters of business area).

iCafes can now also organize chess/poker competition.

Google Play Available to Chinese Devs
Chinese mobile developers can now sell their games and apps on Google Play (with revenue paid through the US dollar and wired to Chinese bank accounts), but Google Play is still not actually available for Chinese users. Many of Google’s products are still blocked in China.

Niko Partners on Bloomberg News

Niko Partners Managing Director Lisa Hanson discusses the state of the gaming market in China with Bloomberg’s Angie Lau on “First Up.”