Vietnam’s Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) ordered Netflix on April 10, 2024, to stop advertising and distributing its games in Vietnam by April 25. The order concerned Netflix Games—not Netflix’s film and television streaming service—and was based on ABEI’s finding that Netflix lacked the authorization required for online-game services.
What Vietnam ordered Netflix to do
ABEI’s notice required Netflix to complete three related actions by April 25, 2024:
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- Stop advertising games inside the Netflix application.
- Stop publishing or distributing the games through Vietnam’s Apple App Store.
- Stop publishing or distributing them through Vietnam’s Google Play Store.
The regulator described the games as being offered in Vietnam without the required authorization. The original order is available from ABEI.
Why licensing was the issue
ABEI said its review found that Netflix was promoting online games to Vietnamese users and making multiple titles available through local versions of the two major mobile-app stores. The authority characterized that activity as a violation of Article 31 of Decree 72/2013/ND-CP, Vietnam’s framework covering internet services, online information and online games.
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Vietnam treats online gaming as a regulated service even when games are offered alongside another digital product. ABEI’s administrative guidance describes registration requirements for providers of G2, G3 and G4 game services, including business records, a service plan, technical systems, payment arrangements where relevant, player-protection measures and information-security controls. The guidance is available at ABEI’s game-service registration page.
The available documents do not identify a specific G category for Netflix’s titles. The defensible point is narrower: Vietnamese authorities treated Netflix’s role as advertising and distributing online-game services that required local compliance.
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How Netflix Games reached Vietnamese users
Netflix’s model combined streaming-account access with ordinary mobile-app distribution:
- A subscriber saw games promoted or listed inside the Netflix app.
- The user downloaded a title directly through the app’s game experience or through an app store.
- After installation, the player signed in with a Netflix account to play.
ABEI said Netflix’s offering had grown from approximately 50 games to about 90 during the period it reviewed the service. That figure describes the 2024 episode, not a current catalog size, and the sources do not establish that every Netflix Games title was available in Vietnam.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Netflix began its mobile-games expansion in November 2021, according to Reuters. The Vietnam dispute therefore arrived as Netflix was extending its business beyond video streaming.
Was Netflix banned in Vietnam?
No. The cited order did not direct Netflix to shut down its movie or television service, leave the country or remove its entire streaming catalog. Its wording focused on game advertising and game distribution through Netflix, Apple’s Vietnamese App Store and Google Play’s Vietnamese storefront.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Calling the event a general “Netflix ban” incorrectly combines a games-licensing action with separate disputes Vietnam had previously had over individual programs. The games order was about authorization for an online-game service, not the sovereignty or content issues raised in those earlier cases.
What happened after the April 25 deadline?
ABEI reported on May 20, 2024, that Netflix had stopped advertising and distributing the unauthorized games in Vietnam. The authority said the games were no longer visible in the Netflix application and were no longer being distributed through the Vietnamese App Store and Google Play Store. Its follow-up is published at ABEI’s May 20 notice.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
That update makes April 25 a compliance deadline that Netflix met, according to the regulator, rather than an unresolved threat. The cited material does not report a fine, prosecution or technical blocking action.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What would have happened if Netflix had ignored the order?
The April 10 notice said Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications would coordinate with relevant state agencies to handle noncompliance under Vietnamese law. The available text does not specify a particular fine, criminal penalty, blocking mechanism or enforcement timetable, so those outcomes should not be assumed.
How this differs from earlier Netflix disputes
Vietnam had previously demanded changes involving individual Netflix programs. Reuters reported earlier cases in which Vietnamese authorities objected to content, including depictions of disputed territorial maps; supplemental coverage discussed titles such as Flight to You, Barbie and Uncharted. Those matters concerned content and sovereignty sensitivities.
The April 2024 action had a different stated basis: ABEI said Netflix was providing an online-game service without the required authorization. The two kinds of regulatory action should not be treated as the same event.
What the order means for readers in Vietnam
- The specific action did not order Netflix’s film and television service to close.
- Netflix Games could disappear from the Netflix app and Vietnamese app-store listings, as ABEI later reported.
- The available sources do not establish what happened to every previously installed game or whether every technical route to an existing installation stopped working.
- As of August 18, 2026, the cited primary material confirms the 2024 withdrawal but does not establish that Netflix later obtained Vietnamese authorization or resumed game distribution.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 2021 | Netflix began its mobile-games push, according to Reuters. |
| April 10, 2024 | ABEI ordered Netflix to stop advertising and distributing games in Vietnam. |
| April 25, 2024 | Deadline for completing the withdrawal. |
| May 20, 2024 | ABEI reported that Netflix had stopped the relevant advertising and distribution. |
The broader lesson is that a global platform can face a separate local authorization requirement when it adds a new business line. Netflix’s existing video service did not automatically resolve the licensing obligations Vietnamese authorities applied to its games operation.
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