RUE-LETTE: The human cost of online gambling

With TN deciding on a ban, a look at how virtual casinos have many Indians hooked

- Himanshi.Dhawan

Last week, a Hyderabad techie who borrowed Rs 5 lakh and then lost it in online gambling was caught after he tried to rob gold from his friend’s house to repay debts 

In September, a Mumbai-based chartered accountant stole Rs 15 crore from his employer to fuel his online gambling addiction

Earlier this year, a private bank employee was arrested by Mumbai police for allegedly siphoning off Rs 1.8 crore from the bank for online betting

Siphoning off money from employers, faking their own kidnapping for ransom, robbery and even taking their own lives, online gamblers can be pushed to desperate lengths. While gambling for money has been a “timepass” for decades in India — inside homes or even outdoors on open lawns and street corners where men gather to pay teen patti and rummy —the pandemic has pushed, much like everything else, the games online. Add to it the availability of cheap data, an uptick in digital transactions, higher penetration of smartphones, and rapid expansion in supply and quality of games, and you have a potent mix before you.

Delhi-based psychiatrist Dr Pankaj Kumar says there has been a 15-20% increase in the number of people seeking treatment for gambling addiction after the lockdown. For most people, it starts as entertainment which grows into an addiction. Gamblers are lulled by the false belief that they can leave anytime.