Pokemon Go is sweeping the globe, but not everyone is a fan. In fact, some governments and religious authorities are outlawing the hot virtual game—or, in other cases, concocting bizarre conspiracy theories to dissuade players. Here are some of the places where the smash hit is definitely not welcome.
Saudi Arabia
You can get in big trouble if you play Pokemon Go in Saudi Arabia. Just recently, Saudi Arabia’s religious authority declared that Pokemon Go is forbidden in the country, stating that the popular smartphone game is covered by a fatwa that Saudi Arabia declared on the Pokemon franchise in 2001.
The fatwa, or Islamic law, dictates that the game “encourages gambling and polytheism.” Back in 2001, when the fatwa only applied to the Pokemon cards and other games, Saudi Arabian religious authorities accused the immensely popular franchise of “possessing the minds” of children while also promoting Zionism, since “most of the cards figure six-pointed stars, a symbol of international Zionism and the state of Israel,” said Saudi Arabia’s high priest in a statement aired on Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV in 2001. It warned Muslim parents to keep their children away from anything related to the Pokemon franchise.
Egypt
Saudi Arabia was not the first country to ban Pokemon Go. The game was forbidden by Islamic authorities in Egypt on July 14. They declared that the game is un-Islamic, making the augmented reality game as illicit as drinking alcohol in Egypt. Officials in the country said that the game “negatively influences the mind and harms the player or others without being aware of that,” and that people become obsessive, neglecting their obligations at work and worship.
Russia
Russian authorities have also weighed in on Pokemon Go, saying that it resembles Western intelligence agencies and the Devil himself. To be exact, Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of the Federal Council’s Committee on Defense, said: “There’s the feeling that the Devil has arrived through this mechanism, and he’s simply trying to ruin us spiritually, from within.”
This game has also inspired election conspiracy theories in Russia. Deputy Evygeny Fedorov, from the political party “United Russia,” recently said: “The game appeared in Russia in the context of elections. The party behind this game is located abroad, and this party’s goal is destabilization, or potential destabilization.”
Indonesia
Governor Made Mangku Pastika of the Indonesian island of Bali has prohibited public officials from using the augmented reality game. Pastika recently told the Tribun Bali, “If they [public officials] jump on the Pokémon bandwagon, then there’s no need for them to ever come back to the office again.”
Australia
Australian authorities have declared that “I was collecting Pokemon” is not a legal defense” for people charged with trespassing.
The Australian police also urged Pokemon players to stop trying to catch Sandshrew in the Darwin Police Station. “For those budding Pokemon Trainers out there using Pokemon Go—whilst the Darwin Police Station may feature as a Pokestop, please be advised that you don’t actually have to step inside in order to gain the pokeballs,” they wrote on Facebook.
Portugal
As part of list of commonsense rules for playing Pokemon Go, the Portuguese police have warned Pokemon trainers not to hunt Pokemons while driving, since it’s too hard to do two things at once. On their Facebook page, the police also posted a message saying: “Don’t go hunting alone” and “don’t enter private property, it’s a crime.”
Bosnia
Authorities in Bosnia don’t want Pokemon Go players to “catch em all” .. in minefields, that is. And with good reason. The war in Bosnia from the 1990s left the the country flooded with landmines. A local anti-landmine charity said in a Facebook post: “Today, we receive information that some players go into areas which are a risk for mines to find Pokémon,” and that “citizens are urged not to do so, to respect demarcation signs of dangerous mine fields and not to go into unknown areas.”
Turkey
A union of imams in Turkey have called for a ban of Pokemon Go in the country. Mehmet Bayraktutar, head of the union, stated that Pokemon Go “undermines the prominence and significance of mosques, which are the most beautiful worship places in Islam. I want it to be banned in Turkey,” referring to how some of the games Pokestops and Gyms are located within mosques.
