India: State of Tamil Nadu declares online gambling illegal

Gambling is considered a double-edged blade, which is why in 2022, there are still people with diverse opinions on the subject. Gambling itself has written several happy fortune stories, but it also regularly makes negative headlines. It can turn people's lives around 180 degrees in a short time, both positively and negatively. For the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, however, the negative aspects seem to clearly outweigh the positive, which is why online gambling is to be banned there.

Chief Minister Stalin continues policy and takes action

Gambling always writes beautiful stories, which give sad fates a beautiful life now and then. However, gambling is still considered highly demonized in many countries and cultures, while in other countries, this belongs to the everyday life of many people. They regularly wager a small sum to give themselves hope of winning millions. However, many people overdo it with gambling and ultimately fall into a negative psychological spiral. Gambling addiction must not be underestimated under any circumstances, which is why those affected should seek help at the first signs. Similar views are held by the government of Tamil Nadu, as Chief Minister Stalin is now planning to implement the previous government's plan. Stalin himself has only held his ministerial post since May 2021, but politically he wants to seamlessly follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Edappadi K. Palaniswami. In February 2021, Palaniswami passed a law banning various types of online gambling. These include online poker, online sports betting, and online rummy, which is popular in India. But online slots like Teen Patti Hands will not be banned because they do not carry such strong harm to the human psyche. All the games mentioned above were previously perfectly legal.

Lawsuits & penalties for online gambling

Needless to say, online gambling operators did not agree with the law from February 2021, which is why they went to court and were successful. However, this was short-lived, as the Madras High Court only overturned the ban in August 2021. The new government around Stalin, on the other hand, wanted to enforce the ban and went to the Supreme Court without further ado. There, the online gambling ban was unceremoniously waved through last December, which is why online gambling is now banned in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. For the inhabitants of Tamil Nadu, this now means the end of online gambling because the penalties are immensely high. Anyone who resorts to it as a gambler will have to pay a fine of INR 5,000 (approx. 60 euros). At the same time, the monthly minimum wage of various professions in India amounts to only 10,000 INR, which is the equivalent of 118 euros. In addition, a prison sentence of 6 months must be served. The prison sentence already amounts to 2 years as an online gambling provider, while the fine only doubles to 10,000 INR.

Suicide rate as a decisive reason?

As mentioned earlier, gambling addiction should not be taken lightly at all. Those affected usually fall into debt due to a lack of luck. However, to pay off the debts, they hope for gambling success, which continues to be absent. In many cases, the debt takes on such proportions within a concise period of time that many would have to pay off debts for the rest of their lives. The emphasis here is deliberately on "would have to" because those affected ultimately take their own lives in many cases. The same thing happened as recently as November 2020 in Coimbatore, where three young men took their own lives due to gambling debts. Stalin sees the affected individuals as victims of gambling. He is concerned with minimizing suicides related to gambling to protect innocent people from the negative impact of gambling. It is not yet known when the new law will officially come into force.