Online gamers keep gaming right through government curfew

Despite a crackdown on Internet shop curfews issued by the the government, many Internet shops in Hanoi are still operating through the night.

At nearly 1am, many gamers were still enthralled in their gameworld on Le Thanh Nghi Road

After 3am at the A6 Block of Khuong Thuong Apartment Building

In order to limit the development and negative impacts of online gaming, as of August 30, Hanoi’s Department of Information and Communications ordered Internet service providers and Internet shop owners to suspend their business operations from 11pm to 6am. Violators are supposed to be imposed with administrative punishment and have the supply of online gaming services cut.

However, two months after this regulation was put into effect, many Internet shops are still operating during prohibited hours.

After 11pm, DTiNews reporters went to Le Thanh Nghi Street which is a haven for gamers. Internet shops on this road appeared to be closed with the lights off suggesting that shop owners were abiding by the rules. Upon further inspection, the shops were full of customers, many more than they have during the day.

A shop owner on Le Thanh Nghi Street asked his staff to keep the vehicles of customers inside the house and to cover their windows with black cloth so the shop would appear to be closed. Nearly a dozen cameras were working to monitor activities inside and outside the shop.

The shop owner asked for a VND30,000 ($1.5) to create an account at his shop. After payment, we were allowed to come in. There were over 30 computers in operation. Here, we saw gamers passionately playing violent games. Sometimes they spoke dirty words and laughed loudly. Some watched pornography sex movies or read sex books while taking a break.

In a closed room, air-conditioners and fans were working at full capacity but they could not cool down the heat emitted from the machines. The smell of cigarette smoke and sweat made the atmosphere suffocating. Apparently gamers did not care about this issue.

At 3am, we moved to the A6 block of Khuong Thuong Apartment Building in Dong Da District. One month ago, DTiNews reported that Internet shops at this location were remaining open during the curfews however, nothing has changed as they are still operating during prohibited hours.

Internet shops here did not watch for inspectors very carefully since it was already past 3am. All windows were open and we easily found nearly 20 Internet shops were still open for business.

We entered a shop and made a deal to begin playing. The shop had over 50 computers and 35 customers inside. Gamers can order food right at the shop so that they can have enough energy to play through the night.

A young boy sitting near us said while his mobile phone kept ringing, “My parents often call me when I do not come home to sleep. I do not want to switch off my mobile phone because if I did that my parents would feel worried. They keep calling me like this. Tonight, I want to play until we can know who the winner is. The winner gets the loser’s account.”

At nearly 6am, we left the shop but the gamers just kept on gaming.