The Chinese government should end tax breaks for gaming companies as they have grown into global firms, a state-backed newspaper said yesterday, in the latest threat to the multibillion-dollar sector to stem from state-controlled media. The online gaming industry, which made revenue of 130 billion yuan (US$20 billion) in the first half of this year, has been the subject of several menacing state media reports in the past few days, with one article calling such games “spiritual opium.” The negative headlines have fueled concerns that the sector is next in line for the regulatory axe, which has cut into large…