A new simpler and stronger age-rating system for video games comes into force today.
The new arrangement is designed to stop inappropriate games being sold to children under the age of 12 and to give the industry more straightforward rules for rating games according to age, the Government has said.
All games sold in the UK will be regulated under the Europe-wide PEGI (Pan European Game Information) scheme.
To this point, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has provided 15 and 18 certificates that are legally enforceable here.
However, the BBFC was never tasked with providing 12 certificates for video games, meaning it was technically legal to sell a 12-rated game to younger children.
The new system will end the BBFC's role in rating video games, unless they contain explicit sexual content that warrants an R18 rating, but make all PEGI ratings made by the UK-based Video Standards Council (VSC) legally enforceable.
The changes mean anyone selling a 12-certificate game to a child under that age could be jailed.
The PEGI system is specifically designed for video games and the age rating on the packaging will be accompanied by information about the type of content that led to it.
The VSC will have the power to refuse to grant an age-rating, banning it being sold in the UK.
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