Stiff competition among food delivery apps in China has spawned so-called “ghost” takeout merchants (GTM). Authorities dislike such online food shops without dine-in premises for posing as regular restaurants, flouting food safety regulations, and faking details to get listed on delivery platforms.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is cracking down on GTMs by fining the delivery platforms hosting them. Seven major e-commerce platforms paid 3.6 billion yuan in fines in April for mostly related violations, The Standard (TS) reported.

SAMR has put the burden of ensuring merchants are legitimate and have the correct business licenses on the platforms. It required platforms to host only food merchants with physical storefronts and to appropriately label those that do not offer dine-in services, according to TS.

The agency will also go after merchants who violate the rules, with offenders facing fines of up to 200,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities are looking at regulating prize-based gaming operators.

Stores offering colorful arcade machines have sprung up in malls across the financial hub as many players become addicted to them.

The seemingly harmless game machines, offering a treasure trove of prizes plus a sense of fulfillment, are drawing people like moths to a flame and raising addiction concerns, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Office clerk Neiki Lee said she has spent around HK$100,000 (US$12,800) on claw machines over two years — roughly half her annual salary.

“For a HK$70 toy, you might eventually spend 700, or even 1,700, and still not be able to grab it,” Lee told AFP.

Player Tommy Yu, 23, said he sometimes spends hundreds of dollars a day on the machines despite knowing the outcome.

“When you put money in but don’t get anything back, you feel like you’ve lost out,” he said. “Yet it keeps driving you to play.”

Some lawmakers have suggested capping the prize value of claw machines at HK$300 or below, in line with countries including Britain and Singapore, according to AFP.

But Lee doubts it would work, saying, “It is difficult to root out addiction problems simply by passing a law.”