China’s mobile gaming market posted double-digit growth to-date in 2019, despite a slowdown in approvals and increasing saturation, China Daily reported, referencing a report from gaming database company Gamma Data.

Figures from the research company showed the domestic market grew 13 per cent year-on-year to CNY151.4 billion ($21.6 billion), accounting for 64.4 per cent of the overall online gaming market, which recorded an 8.7 per cent increase in 2019.

In 2018, mobile gaming revenue increased 15.4 per cent from the previous year.

Lu Xiaoyin, CEO for the games segment at Chinese developer Perfect World, told China Daily the domestic market is becoming saturated, but overseas remained poised for rapid growth.

Chinese developers reported a 16.7 per cent increase in online gaming revenue from overseas markets this year to $11.2 billion, Gamma Data’s figures showed.

In November, China’s government banned children from late night online and mobile gaming, and enforced daily time limits to curb addiction.

This followed a nine-month moratorium on government approvals for online games during 2018 due to concerns over addiction and myopia among children, with authorities only restarting the clearance process at the beginning of this year.

Gaming companies need government approval to sell games in the domestic market.