Saudi Arabia's top clerics have renewed a religious edict that warns against playing Pokemon - this time against the wildly popular mobile phone application Pokemon Go.

First issued in 2001 when the game was played with cards, the decree says Pokemon violates Islamic prohibitions against gambling, uses devious Masonic-like symbols and promotes "forbidden images". The edict, or fatwa, has reappeared in a ticker on the home page of the kingdom's portal for official religious decrees.

Saudi-based Arab News reported on Wednesday that Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan, a member of the kingdom's ultraconservative council of senior clerics, said the current version of the game is the same as the old one.

The edict notes that a six-pointed star in the game, for example, is associated with the state of Israel and that certain triangular symbols hold important meanings for the Freemasonry.