Chinese livestreaming companies will be forced to cap the amount of money viewers can spend on their favourite performers as part of new rules unveiled by the national media regulator this week, potentially eating into a lucrative source of revenue for the firms.

The rules call on streaming sites to set maximum values for single donations and also cap each user’s daily and monthly spending, which platforms take a cut of.

The new directive also tells platforms to verify the age and real identities of live-streamers and those who patronize them.

People found to be under the age of 18 will not be able to send virtual gifts or give tips, the regulator said in the notice published Monday, which followed reports of underage users spending excessive amounts of money on such platforms.

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Contact editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)