The game, which has drawn a strong following worldwide, was released in Thailand yesterday, on the eve of the nationwide referendum.

“If you are not polling station staffs, you cannot go inside the polling booths unless you are going to cast ballots. Catching Pokemons there is prohibited,” Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn told The Nation yesterday. The Nintendo Co Ltd’s smash-hit augmented reality mobile game Pokemon Go, since its launch last month, has caused chaos around the world. The game has led a young Pokemon trainer to find a dead body and several times caused street accidents.

The ground-breaking mobile app that has broken records across the world became available for download in Thailand and other countries and regions including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.

“This has to be looked at on a case by case basis. It depends how he or she acts. We cannot really say that catching a Pokemon is a crime against the referendum act. It depends on their manners,” Thanit Sriprathet, deputy secretary-general of Election Commission (EC) told The Nation when asked whether or not a voter would be charged with violating the referendum law if he or she catches a Pokemon inside the polling booths.

Thanit said, however, that he did not think the Pokemons would be inside the booth.

“Normally, if you are not voting, you are not allowed to get inside a polling booth – not for catching a Pokemon, not for anything,” he said.

But if the application happens to notify when one is already inside the polling booths, he could use it, Thanit said.

“The referendum law does not prohibit phone calls or the use of the smartphones, but just do not take photos, selfies, or make known how you’re crossing your ballot,” he added.

Despite issuing the warning, Somchai was “catching them all”. He showed The Nation he was playing the game during his trip to Ayutthaya to facilitate officials from election agencies of Bhutan and East Timor who come to observe today’s referendum on charter draft.

Thai game lovers were eagerly awaiting their chance to have the Pokemon Go experience. They later shared their happy moments playing the game with their friends and followers on social media as well.

Authorities expressed concern about the release of the game. A source from the Culture Ministry said it was worried that game players may cause damage to historical places while Dr Yongyuth Wongpiromsan, Public Health Ministry spokesman and psychiatrist, urged the government to order measures so as to prevent problems caused by the game to people.

Meanwhile, business operators in Thailand have caught up with the Pokemon Go fever in Thailand. Many companies have launched real-time marketing campaigns.

Thai start-up Take Me Tour introduced Catch ‘Em All: Pokmon (Go) Catching in Bangkok, to catch all the Pok mon, while exploring the town.

True Corp, the game’s master licensee to manage the game’s content, said that True Move mobile phone customers would get the Pokedex handbook listing available monsters at True shops. The firm also held a “Gotta catch ’em all” at True shops starting 6pm yesterday until next Friday.