(Yicai Global) Aug. 31 -- Shares in Tencent Holdings, NetEase and other big Chinese gaming firms fell yesterday and today after the Chinese government issued new regulations cutting the amount of time that under-18s can spend online gaming by a third to three hours a week in a bid to strengthen anti-addiction measures.

Tencent Holdings’ share price [HKG:0700] was trading down 1.37 percent at HKD459.40 (USD59) at 1:30 p.m. China time today. NetEase’s New York-listed stock [NASDAQ:NTES] finished 3.39 percent lower at USD89.62 yesterday, while Bilibili’s US shares [NASDAQ:BILI] closed down 1.59 percent at USD74.13.

Online gaming firms can only provide services to minors between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as on public holidays, the National Press and Publication Administration said yesterday. During the rest of the time, underage players cannot play games online.

It will be a blow to young children about to start their summer holidays. Previous restrictions had limited playtime to one and a half hours a week and three hours on the weekends and public holidays. However, many parents had suggested that that was too much, Xinhua News reported earlier.

Tencent and NetEase have both said they will strictly abide by the new rules, Shanghai Securities News reported.

Almost a third of Tencent’s revenue in the second quarter came from gaming at CNY43 billion (USD6.6 billion), the Shenzhen-based firm said in its earnings report released on Aug. 18. Just a fraction of players during this period were aged under 12 at 0.3 percent and only 2.6 percent were under 16, it added.

The firm was quick to respond to reports in state media earlier this month criticizing the negative impact of online gaming on young children. It voluntarily reduced the amount of time to one hour per day during term time from one and a half hours, and to two hours from three hours during school holidays.

Editor: Kim Taylor