The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced on Monday that it has accepted applications from nine licensed billiard establishments to relax their entry restrictions for young people.

This initiative, which began accepting applications in February, is designed to promote the development of billiard sports by making it more accessible to a younger audience in Hong Kong.

The newly approved relaxation measures include lowering the minimum age of entry from 16 to eight years old and extending the permitted stay for young patrons until 11pm, compared with the previous 8pm cutoff.

Furthermore, children will be allowed to enter the approved establishments as early as 7am and the rules prohibiting entry for those wearing school uniforms have been lifted.

The LCSD received a total of 32 applications for this programme.

After a thorough review process that considered assessments from relevant government departments, including the police and the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Department of Health, nine applications were successful.

The department said they evaluated each applicant's operational situation, surrounding environment, history of enforcing smoking offences and their facilities for promoting billiard sports.

The nine approved establishments, which include the South China Athletic Association, are located across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.