BattleZone to hold first National Championships in United Arab Emirates: Difference between revisions

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Founded in 2011, BattleZone is a white market, specialty retailer store chain for world-building game hobbyists and enthusiasts based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It deals in several major trading card game franchises including, but not limited to, ''Magic the Gathering'', ''Warhammer'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and of course ''Pokémon''. In addition to selling TCG products, they are licensed<ref>Hosting small-scale competitive events in the U.A.E. is prohibited without a proper permit, due to fears and previous experiences of rising illegal gambling rings.</ref> to hold tournaments and events based on these franchises, primarily within their store venue. BattleZone were instrumental in making the U.A.E. officially eligible for Play! Pokémon events as of January 2016.
Founded in 2011, BattleZone is a white market, specialty retailer store chain for world-building game hobbyists and enthusiasts based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It deals in several major trading card game franchises including, but not limited to, ''Magic the Gathering'', ''Warhammer'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and of course ''Pokémon''. In addition to selling TCG products, they are licensed<ref>Hosting small-scale competitive events in the U.A.E. is prohibited without a proper permit, due to fears and previous experiences of rising illegal gambling rings.</ref> to hold tournaments and events based on these franchises, primarily within their store venue. BattleZone were instrumental in making the U.A.E. officially eligible for Play! Pokémon events as of January 2016.


BattleZone is one of the first white market retailers to gradually re-introduce the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the U.A.E. since the early 2010s; in 2001, the Pokémon franchise came under great scrutiny when the the Islamic {{wp|Grand Mufti}} of {{wp|Saudi Arabia}} at the time issued a ''{{wp|fatwā}}'' against the franchise based on false pretenses, and it affected neighboring countries, including the U.A.E.. However, contrary to popular belief, a commercial ban was never issued by the government in the U.A.E., but despite that the original distributors of the Pokémon TCG decided to discontinue trade regardless for non-disclosed reasons, albeit other Pokémon products, including the video games, reappeared in stores shortly after the controversy subsided. Until the 2010s, resident enthusiastic Pokémon TCG collectors had to import from other countries or hunt for the limited quantities sold in the local grey market. The Pokémon franchise was originally introduced in the U.A.E. with the launch of the English versions of {{game|Red and Blue|s}} in 1998, but the franchise did not commercially peak until the Pokémon anime first aired on local television in 2000.
BattleZone is one of the first white market retailers to gradually re-introduce the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the U.A.E. since the early 2010s; in 2001, the Pokémon franchise came under great scrutiny when the Islamic {{wp|Grand Mufti}} of {{wp|Saudi Arabia}} at the time issued a ''{{wp|fatwā}}'' against the franchise based on false pretenses, and it affected neighboring countries, including the U.A.E.. However, contrary to popular belief, a commercial ban was never issued by the government in the U.A.E., but despite that the original distributors of the Pokémon TCG decided to discontinue trade regardless for non-disclosed reasons, albeit other Pokémon products, including the video games, reappeared in stores shortly after the controversy subsided. Until the 2010s, resident enthusiastic Pokémon TCG collectors had to import from other countries or hunt for the limited quantities sold in the local grey market. The Pokémon franchise was originally introduced in the U.A.E. with the launch of the English versions of {{game|Red and Blue|s}} in 1998, but the franchise did not commercially peak until the Pokémon anime first aired on local television in 2000.


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