'Life Threatening' Online Gambling Addiction In Tamil Nadu, CM Vows To End Ventures

Several states in the country have been tightening the rope on all forms of online gambling. However, the new year did not start positively for Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, where a family of four, including a 35-year-old woman and two children, were found dead in their house.

The 36-year-old bank employee named Manikandan was found dead in the kitchen, while the children, an 11-year-old and a one-year-old, were huddled beside their mother. Police investigation revealed that Manikandan was addicted to online gambling, in which he lost money in lakhs. Therefore, both husband and wife started having constant fights at home.

Deaths Over Online Gambling Addiction

Manikandan hit his wife with a bat in a fit of anger, after which she died. After that, he strangled both his children before hanging himself. A similar incident was reported on January 3, when the Police arrested a couple for staging a drama after looting an amount of 1.32 lakhs from a Railway station ticket counter in Chennai, News18 reported. The booking clerk was addicted to online gambling and staged a drama with his wife, claiming that money was looted from him at gunpoint in the early hours. In both cases, people addicted to online money-making were respectable social status.

Madras HC Struck Down The Amendment

The MK Stalin-led government came to power in August 2021 and amended the gaming act. However, the Madras High Court quashed the order while delivering its verdict to enable petitions from a group of companies challenging the government's decision to ban online gambling. The Court held that such a ban would be unconstitutional and a severe violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession, trade or business. The government contested that youngsters are falling prey to online gambling and betting vast sums of money.

In December 2021, the Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court against Madras High Court's verdict. CM MK Stalin has promised to put any legislation in place that would help to ban online real money games. The state government is not consulting several experts to control online gambling.

Also Read: Noteworthy Development! India To Begin Issuing Chip-Enabled Passports Soon