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Baird To Crackdown On Pokémon At Sydney War Memorial

The NSW government has had enough of the game at Hyde Park.
There are moves to stop Pokémon GO at the Hyde Park war memorial.
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There are moves to stop Pokémon GO at the Hyde Park war memorial.

The NSW Government is cracking down on Pokémon GO, telling the creators of the wildly popular game to remove its characters from the ANZAC memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park.

The augmented reality phenomenon, which has taken the world by storm in the last month, tells users to catch Pokémon inside churches, on busy city streets and even at Sydney's infamous The Gap.

Speaking to NewsCorp Australia, NSW Veterans Affairs Minister David Elliott said the Baird government had asked the game's creators in Japan remove a "Poke-Stop" at Hyde Park's Anzac Memorial.

"(It) is a space of quiet contemplation and it is not appropriate for Pokémon players to be 'lured' inside to catch Pokémons," Mr Elliott is quoted as saying.

"Large numbers of Pokémon players have entered the memorial since the game's release on April 6, forcing security guards to remind players that they are in a commemorative area. Staff have contacted the software developer to request it remove the PokéStop at this solemn location."

In addition to the sacred site at Hyde Park, Pokémon characters are also said to hover at The Cenotaph in Martin Place and throughout the CBD and Kings Cross.

NSW is far from alone in querying Pokémon GO creators for their placement of its "Pokéstops" and "gyms'".

The problem has also been reported overseas, with Pokémon enthusiasts said to have been catching characters at a Holocaust museums in the US and New York City's 9/11 Memorial.

There have also been reports of war memorials in the UK being defaced due to the popular game.

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