PUBG Mobile has been banned in India by the government on the grounds that the app is a threat to national sovereignty and integrity. The ban was announced late on Wednesday, and in addition to PUBG Mobile, 117 other apps were also banned, including Alipay, Arena of Valor, Knives Out, and PUBG Mobile Lite. This is a ban that has been in the works for some time, after the government first banned 59 apps in June, and then later in July included PUBG Mobile on a list of apps that would be considered banning.
Now that it has been banned by the government, people are looking for alternatives to gambling. However, this is not the first controversy that has rocked PUBG Mobile. The hugely popular game has faced bans and controversies before in India, with various government officials calling it detrimental to students’ education. Here’s a look at some of the big challenges gambling in India has faced in the past.
- PUBG Mobile was banned from Rajkot for creating a negative impact on the minds of gamers. Rajkot police issued a notice stating that anyone can complain about someone who is gambling and if convicted, strict action will be taken.
- A teenager in Punjab reportedly spent Rs. 16 lakhs from his parents’ bank accounts in PUBG Mobile earlier this year, to update his in-game character. Another teenager, also in Punjab, used his grandfather’s Paytm account to spend Rs. 2 lakh in the game.
- The Jammu and Kashmir Student Association had asked the state governor to ban PUBG due to poor results from the tenth and twelfth council.
- The game also included a feature that was reversed because it was alleged to have hurt the religious feelings of some players in June of this year.
- There have also been news reports alleging that the game has caused violence and that PUBG is blamed for violent acts in the past two years.
Should the government explain why Chinese apps were banned? We talked about this on Orbital, our weekly tech podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
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