Govt cleans up gambling in mobile apps

China is expected to see a more family-friendly mobile app market after the top cultural authority's recent crackdown on gambling-related content.

As many as 27 mobile game publishing platforms and app-store operators, including Baidu App and Android Market, were told late last year by the Ministry of Culture to rectify games that contain information advocating gambling or that allow lottery-style in-app purchases. Their deadline was the end of 2013.

Lottery-style in-app purchases within a game increase a player's chances of winning or receiving a reward. This type of purchase originated in Japan and is known as "Kompu Gacha". Due to the random nature of lotteries and the uncertainty of rewards, the feature can be seen as promoting gambling.