A total of 108 PUBG players have been arrested - and of those 24 have been jailed - after being raided by police during a LAN event in Bangladesh, Dot Esports reports.
Of those arrested, 78 people are still reportedly awaiting age verification to determine whether or not they’re 18 or older - anyone determined to be such will also be jailed. Those imprisoned have received two-day sentences, with others expected to receive similar sentences if they’re proven to be adults.
The arrests took place yesterday (20 July) in Chuadanga, according to the original report from Ogro News. Teenagers had apparently gathered from across various districts of the country to participate in the tournament, with many claiming that they’d been invited to the event online. Smartphones were apparently recovered by the police from everyone involved.
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PUBG Mobile and a different mobile shooter game called Garena Free Fire were both banned in Bangladesh in August last year - the courts justified the decision by slating the games as “addictive”. This came after Supreme Court lawyers started a petition, claiming that the games were making teenagers become more immoral and violent.
Originally, this ban was only meant to last for three months, but a report from The Business Standard from April this year stated that PUBG would continue to be banned, after the High Court rejected a petition which sought to revoke the initial ruling.
Recently, it was announced that France are banning all government workers from using English gaming jargon such as “esports” and “streamer”, in an effort to preserve the “purity” of the French language. It was determined that the borrowed English terms could be a “a barrier to understanding” for non-gamers, and as such, official French translations have been put in place.
This ban only seems to be in place for French government officials, so unless you are one (bonjour), it’s probably still fine for you to talk about esports up on the Eiffel Tower.
Featured Image Credit: KRAFTON/PUBG Corporation/Tencent Games, Michael Förtsch via UnsplashTopics: Battle Royale, Real Life