Online gambling: The inescapable death trap for many of India’s youth

India

oi-Lekshmi Parameswaran

Players
always
win
the
initial
few
games.
After
a
while,
they
become
so
addicted
to
winning
that
they
start
borrowing
from
others,
neglect
the
risks
involved
and
when
they
find
themselves
neck-deep
in
debt,
they
make
the
difficult
decision
of
taking
their
lives.

India
will
soon
be
celebrating
its
75th
Independence
Day.
In
the
last
75
years,
the
country
has
taken
major
strides
in
different
sectors
and
made
its
mark
globally
as
a
power
to
reckon
with.
In
this,
the
country’s
youth
have
played
a
major
role.
By
excelling
in
their
chosen
streams,
they
have
put
India
on
the
world
map
and
in
the
next
few
years,
the
demographic
dividend
that
India
enjoys
at
present
is
expected
to
accelerate
the
growth
rate
and
make
the
young
conquer
new
frontiers.

Yet
there
is
a
lurking
issue
that
threatens
to
undo
many
of
the
nation’s
achievements.
It
is
connected
to
the
recent
spate
of
suicides
across
the
country
that
are
mainly
attributed
to
online
gambling
and
gaming.
It
was
the
British
government
that
first
encouraged
gambling
in
India
in
order
to
gain
through
tax
revenues.
Now,
with
the
current
turn
of
events,
it
seems
like
they
have
left
a
lasting
legacy.

The
Future
of
Online
Gambling
in
India

The
headlines
that
appear
in
newspapers
almost
every
other
day
are
alike.
A
man
or
woman
usually
between
the
age
group
of
20-35
dies
by
suicide
after
losing
lakhs
in
online
gambling
games
like
rummy.
Most
of
the
victims
are
educated
with
decent
jobs
and
stable
family
backgrounds.
A
20-year-old
boy
in
Kerala
died
by
suicide
after
he
lost
Rs
5
lakh
in
online
rummy.
A
36-year-old
father
in
Tamil
Nadu
who
was
a
bank
employee
murdered
his
two
children
and
killed
his
wife
due
to
mounting
debts.
A
29-year-old
woman
in
Chennai
died
by
suicide
after
she
lost
all
her
gold
and
her
life’s
savings
in
online
rummy.

Tamil
Nadu
alone
has
witnessed
nearly
20
deaths
in
the
past
three
years.
Yet
not
many
eyebrows
have
been
raised
despite
talented
youngsters
falling
into
a
death
trap
that
has
been
eerily
similar
for
everyone
falling
prey
to
it.

What
perpetrated
this
problem
was
the
long
periods
of
lockdown
which
confined
people
to
their
homes
and
many
turned
to
the
virtual
world
to
escape
boredom.
Online
rummy
and
poker
were
not
only
games
that
kept
them
engaged
but
also
helped
those
who
had
lost
their
livelihoods
to
find
a
source
of
income.
With
the
penetration
of
internet
in
the
rural
areas,
online
gaming
became
even
more
popular.
According
to
a
KPMG
report,
the
Indian
online
gaming
sector
is
the
among
the
fastest
growing
sectors
eclipsing
most
other
forms
of
media
in
terms
of
investments,
revenue
and
jobs.

Despite
the
positives,
the
patterns
remain
the
same
for
everyone
getting
ensnared
into
the
web
of
online
gambling.
They
always
win
the
initial
few
games
which
makes
them
want
to
put
in
more
money.
After
a
while,
they
become
so
addicted
to
the
habit
of
winning
that
they
start
borrowing
from
others,
neglect
the
risks
involved
and,
in
the
end,
when
they
find
themselves
neck-deep
in
debt,
they
make
the
difficult
decision
of
taking
their
lives.

Why
this
problem
still
remains
hidden
is
because
it
is
not
easy
for
anyone
to
gauge
what
happens
in
the
virtual
world.
In
some
of
the
cases,
money
kept
aside
by
parents
for
the
children’s
education
or
their
dream
homes
were
getting
debited.
It
is
only
when
the
parents
approached
the
police
that
they
realised
that
the
culprit
is
their
own
son
or
daughter.

This
is
how
you
can
assure
safety
when
gambling
online
in
India

Hari
Kumar,
a
psychologist
said,
“The
magnitude
of
what
happens
when
things
go
wrong
in
online
gambling
is
difficult
to
understand
as
many
don’t
realise
that
it
is
an
addiction
and
help
needs
to
be
sought.
There
is
also
the
shame
and
stigma
attached
to
finding
oneself
unable
to
pay
back
the
debts.”

The
online
gambling
industry
has
become
so
powerful
in
the
country
that
it
is
almost
getting
impossible
to
put
any
checks
and
balances
on
them.
States
like
Tamil
Nadu,
Assam,
Telangana,
Odisha
and
Andhra
Pradesh
have
banned
online
gambling.
The
Karnataka
High
Court
observed
that
the
online
gaming
industry
needs
effective
regulation.
But
many
of
those
decisions
are
being
reversed.

Now,
the
Telangana
government
is
of
the
view
that
blanket
bans
may
not
be
the
solution.
The
High
Courts
of
Punjab
and
Haryana,
Rajasthan
and
Mumbai
have
already
recognised
fantasy
sports
as
games
of
skill
and
a
legitimate
business
activity
protected
under
Article
19(1)(g)
of
the
Constitution
of
India.
The
Madras
High
Court
struck
down
the
Tamil
Nadu
government’s
ban
on
online
gaming
stating
that
it
is
disproportionate
to
its
objective.

It
needs
to
be
noted
that
though
the
Gaming
Act
of
1960
had
prohibited
money
betting
and
gambling,
the
Supreme
Court
has
ruled
that
games
that
require
skill
and
intelligence
will
not
come
within
its
limits.
Since
rummy
is
a
game
that
is
considered
to
require
skill
and
intelligence,
the
companies
make
use
of
this
loophole
to
circumvent
the
law.

There
is
no
doubt
that
certain
judgements
of
the
courts
have
contributed
to
the
online
gaming
industry
penetrating
deep
into
Indian
society.
But
if
India
has
to
secure
its
future
by
protecting
its
youth,
it
will
bode
well
to
look
at
the
recommendations
of
the
Justice
K.
Chandru
Committee
which
was
constituted
by
Tamil
Nadu
to
study
the
impact
of
online
gaming.

The
Committee
has
in
its
report
recommended
a
ban
on
all
online
card
games.
It
has
focussed
on
how
gambling
addiction
could
impact
human
lives
and
in
turn
become
a
major
threat
at
the
individual,
family
and
societal
levels.

Compounding
an
already
tense
situation
is
a
report
by
Statista
which
estimates
that
the
online
rummy
market
in
India
will
hit
USD
1.4
billion
by
2024
due
to
the
increasing
penetration
of
smart
phones
and
greater
accessibility
to
internet.

Legalise
gambling,
betting
in
sports
to
help
generate
revenue:
Law
panel

Researchers
from
the
National
Centre
for
Social
Research
(NatCen)
and
the
University
of
Liverpool
in
a
study
found
that
gambling
firms
in
Britain
derive
40
per
cent
of
their
revenue
from
just
one
per
cent
of
players
and
those
affected
were
mostly
the
vulnerable
in
society
–
young,
elderly
and
the
economically
deprived.
This
holds
true
for
India
too.

The
situation
is
turning
grim
and
the
government
needs
to
act
soon.
Affordability
checks
and
legislations
should
be
put
in
place
to
regulate
online
gaming.
For
a
country
that
has
always
been
proud
of
its
youth
and
its
achievements,
there
is
a
lot
at
stake.
Every
life
lost
is
an
irreplaceable
loss
for
the
nation.
It
can
be
stopped
only
when
the
government
and
the
civil
society
come
together
to
take
the
bull
by
the
horns.
A
lasting
solution
has
to
be
found
to
give
the
youth
the
future
that
they
truly
deserve.

Lekshmi
Parameswaran
is
a
researcher
and
writer
based
in
New
Delhi.
Her
twitter
profile
is
@lekshmip.

Disclaimer:
The
opinions
expressed
in
this
article
are
the
personal
opinions
of
the
author.
The
facts
and
opinions
appearing
in
the
article
do
not
reflect
the
views
of
OneIndia
and
OneIndia
does
not
assume
any
responsibility
or
liability
for
the
same.