Poker machine developers like to get very creative when they develop new themes for their games. However, they can sometimes take things a bit too far. Recently, the design of a new pokie by German developer Merkur Gaming has been criticised by Hindu leaders for featuring the Lord Shiva in its new game, Shiva.
Shiva is a 5-payline 50-reel online pokie that features the Lord Shiva as well as a number of other Hindu and Indian symbols. These symbols include: cats, elephants, the Taj Mahal and monkeys. While it may seem as though the developer is paying homage to the culture and the religion, Hindu religious leader Rajan Zed is not pleased with the depiction.
Rajan Zed has issued a statement which argues that the Lord Shiva should be worshipped in temples or in home shrines. The image of this god is not meant to be used in the promotion of casino games or to earn money for any commercial company. “Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled,” he says. This is not the first time that Zed has taken issue with a gaming company’s depiction of a Hindu god.
In 2012, PlayTech released an online pokie game called Lakshmi’s Gold, which featured many Hindu gods. The title had not been out very long before Zed requested that the operator take the game down and issue an apology. It was quite a big controversy, so Merkur Gaming should certainly have learned from PlayTech’s mistake.
When we visited the Merkur Gaming website, we couldn’t find any information about the game. It seems that it has been taken down, and it was not listed in the developer’s list of titles. So, we assume that news of the controversy got back to the company; however, Merkur has not released an official statement.
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