‘The family paid the price’: India’s deadly online gambling crisis

Nizamabad, India – When Harish began betting online, his household did not ideate that a smartphone would yet devour their savings, onshore and, ultimately, their lives.

The 22-year-old from Yedapally colony successful the Nizamabad territory of India’s confederate Telangana authorities started betting online during the COVID-19 pandemic. What began with tiny wagers gradually turned into dense losses and borrowing.

Police accidental Harish yet spent astir 1.8 cardinal rupees (more than $21,000 successful 2024) connected betting and borrowed wealth from astatine slightest 12 radical successful his village.

His parents tried to rescue him from the increasing debt. His father, Ranganaveni Suresh, 53, was a husbandman who besides ran a market shop. His mother, Hemalatha, 45, worked alongside him. The household sold a crippled of onshore to repay immoderate of what Harish owed. It was not enough. As the debts mounted, Harish and his parent began moving for a caterer to rise money. But the unit continued to grow.

On October 3, 2024, Harish and his parents died by termination astatine their home. “We did not cognize however overmuch wealth helium had borrowed until radical started coming to our location asking for their wealth back. By then, the concern was already retired of control,” said Mukesh Kumar, a relative of Harish.

It is simply a refrain that is progressively echoing crossed India, arsenic the state grapples with the increasing and fast-adapting situation of an online gambling addiction crisis. The state had astir 591 cardinal gamers successful 2024, according to an manufacture report. India’s online gaming assemblage generated astir $3.7bn that twelvemonth — a fig that was past projected to much than treble to $9.1bn by 2029. Gaming involving wealth accounted for astir 86 percent of the industry’s gross successful 2024.

In 2025, the Indian Parliament passed a instrumentality banning each online gaming involving money, trying to plug regulatory gaps that platforms pushing net betting were exploiting. However, smartphones, planetary connectivity and a achromatic marketplace ecosystem person allowed online gambling to shapeshift and survive.

Playing the online crippled PUBG successful New Delhi, April 5, 2019 [Raunaq Lekhi/ AP Photo]

How online gambling works

The deaths successful Yedapally offered India a glimpse of the risks surrounding its expanding online betting economy, wherever the committedness of speedy wealth tin gully young users into repeated wagers, losses and debt.

Betting nary longer requires a bookmaker, a currency transaction oregon a sojourn to a betting shop. It tin hap connected a smartphone, often portion a cricket lucifer is playing and advertisements promising winnings look connected the aforesaid screen.

For immoderate users, a fewer 100 rupees mislaid becomes different wager to retrieve it. That wager tin go a loan, and the indebtedness tin go a indebtedness that reaches acold beyond the idiosyncratic who placed the bet.

The archetypal brushwood with online betting does not ever look similar gambling. For a young cricket fan, it tin statesman with phantasy sports oregon a prediction game. The connection is astir knowledge, contention and skill. Advertisements are agleam and polished, and often look alongside the athletics itself. India’s tremendous smartphone and gaming marketplace has provided fertile crushed for the business.

Behind the morganatic gaming system is simply a overmuch harder-to-track amerciable market. A 2025 study by public-policy organisation CUTS International estimated that the 15 largest unauthorised online betting platforms received much than 5.4 cardinal visits from India during the 2024-25 fiscal year. It estimated yearly deposits connected amerciable gambling platforms astatine astir $100bn and documented the usage of telephone banking, mule slope accounts and mobile applications to determination money. The fig is an estimation alternatively than an authoritative measurement of India’s gambling market, but it illustrates the standard of request facing regulators.

The wealth is generated done respective layers of the online betting economy. Operators gain from amounts users involvement oregon lose, portion ineligible gaming platforms person built businesses astir introduction fees and commissions. Advertising, personage endorsements, affiliate networks and idiosyncratic acquisition adhd further commercialized incentives.

Just 1 specified gambling app, Mahadev Online, is estimated to person generated astir 430 cardinal rupees (about $5bn) implicit 7 years, according to prosecution documents filed by India’s fiscal crimes agency, the Enforcement Directorate. But portion astatine 1 extremity are tremendous sums flowing done betting networks, astatine the different are families struggling to recognize wherever their wealth went.

A young Indian antheral playing a money-based paper crippled connected his telephone [File: Majid Maqbool/ Al Jazeera]

When winning and losing go an obsession

In Hyderabad, the superior of Telangana, Selam Manoj, a 20-year-old aeronautical engineering student, died by termination successful February 2024 aft reportedly becoming addicted to online games and betting. His begetter told constabulary that Manoj had borrowed 300,000 rupees (about $3,600) from friends.

The household repaid the debt, but Manoj died by suicide. In different Telangana case, 27-year-old cattle-feed trader Balagoni Pavan Kumar accumulated hundreds of thousands of rupees successful betting losses. Police said his begetter had antecedently cleared his debts and warned him to stop. However, the betting continued. Pavan Kumar aboriginal died by suicide.

“The betting did not impact lone him. The full household paid the price. We mislaid our peace, our savings and the aboriginal we had planned,” said Kalpana, his sister.

These cases cannot found that gambling unsocial caused the deaths, accidental experts and constabulary officials. Suicide is analyzable and tin impact aggregate factors. But they amusement however fiscal losses, addiction, shame and unit tin collide.

Research has besides examined the narration betwixt gambling upset and suicide. A 2026 meta-analysis of 14 observational studies recovered important associations betwixt gambling upset and suicidal ideation, termination attempts and termination mortality, though the spot of those associations varied crossed studies and regions.

For families, however, the situation often begins with a simpler question: Where did the wealth go?

Indian farmers protestation successful New Delhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, seeking amended prices for their nutrient and alleviation from debts, July 19, 2017. [Altaf Qadri/ AP Photo]

The chase

Gambling addictions person a peculiarly destructive fiscal logic.

So, if a idiosyncratic loses 5,000 rupees ($53) and decides to triumph it back, the adjacent wager is apt to beryllium 10,000 rupees ($106). Another nonaccomplishment follows. A indebtedness makes different stake possible. The gambler whitethorn nary longer beryllium trying to marque money. They are trying to retrieve wealth that has already disappeared.

That signifier tin beryllium hard for families to recognise. Parents whitethorn wage disconnected a indebtedness believing the situation has ended, lone to observe that the betting has continued, accidental experts.

That dynamic appeared repeatedly successful Telangana’s reported cases. Harish’s parents sold land. Manoj’s begetter repaid his son’s debt. Pavan Kumar’s begetter besides cleared earlier debts. The fiscal load moves outward from the gambler to the family. Savings disappear. Jewellery is sold. Loans are taken from relatives and neighbours.

Manoj Kumar Sharma, prof of objective science astatine the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), India’s apical intelligence wellness facility, said it is casual for radical to determination from casual gaming to wealth games and yet to higher-stakes gambling.

“Wins tin nutrient a beardown consciousness of reward, portion losses tin make guilt and regret alongside the content that the wealth tin inactive beryllium recovered,” Sharma said. “That anticipation tin support radical gambling adjacent arsenic their losses increase, creating a rhythm that becomes progressively hard to break.”

In agrarian communities, wherever onshore tin correspond generations of security, gambling indebtedness tin endanger much than a household’s monthly income. It tin endanger the family’s future.

A nationalist instrumentality banning each online wealth games came into effect successful India successful May. Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to reporters connected the archetypal time of the monsoon league of parliament successful New Delhi, July 20, 2026.  [Altaf Hussain/ Reuters]

India draws a caller ineligible line

For years, India’s gambling laws were fragmented. Betting and gambling are chiefly regulated by the states, with assorted authorities laws taking antithetic approaches.

State laws determined what forms of offline betting and gambling were permitted oregon prohibited, portion courts historically examined whether peculiar activities were games of accidental oregon progressive capable skill. That favoritism became cardinal to the maturation of online phantasy sports and real-money gaming, with companies arguing that their products progressive accomplishment alternatively than gambling — and truthful should beryllium allowed.

But the smartphone created a parallel situation for regulators. A subordinate could beryllium sitting successful 1 state, utilizing an exertion operated elsewhere, portion payments moved electronically and the relation could beryllium based extracurricular India. The Mahavir app, for instance, was tally by a businessman based successful the United Arab Emirates.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 changed each that, prohibiting online wealth games, including those based connected chance, accomplishment oregon a operation of the two. It besides prohibits their advertising, promotion and facilitation. Banks and outgo systems are barred from facilitating transactions connected to prohibited online wealth games, portion authorities person powers to artifact unlawful services. The instrumentality came into unit connected May 1, 2026.

But tougher laws person not eliminated the appetite for betting.

The ‘Code Red’ gambling app astatine the 2012 GiGse online gaming normal successful San Francisco. India has present banned online wealth games, but apps are moving overseas to get astir India’s crackdown [File: Beck Diefenbach/ Reuters]

The offshore problem

As India has tightened restrictions, amerciable and offshore operators person progressively go a absorption for enforcement agencies.

A website tin vanish and instrumentality nether different domain. A societal media relationship tin beryllium removed and replaced. Users tin beryllium redirected into backstage messaging groups. Affiliate networks tin besides beforehand betting services without appearing to run the betting level themselves.

That makes enforcement harder than closing a carnal betting shop.

Advertising has go different battleground. In June 2026, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting warned celebrities and influencers against endorsing oregon promoting offshore online betting and gambling platforms, including done surrogate advertising. The Advertising Standards Council of India has documented the standard of the problem.

Its 2025-26 yearly study said it identified and escalated 7,927 offshore betting advertisements successful 2025. Offshore betting accounted for 72 percent of advertisements recovered to beryllium successful usurpation successful its monitoring. The ASCI besides identified 854 influencers progressive successful offshore betting promotions betwixt April and December 2025.

Indian batsman Suresh Raina was questioned by constabulary implicit endorsements for online betting companies [File: Danish Siddiqui/ Reuters]

Selling the dream

Celebrity power has helped marque online wealth gaming acquainted to millions of Indians.

Cricketers, actors and societal media personalities person appeared successful advertisements for gaming and fantasy-sports brands, helping crook integer wealth games into an seemingly mean portion of sporting culture.

For companies, the attraction is obvious. A celebrated look tin lend legitimacy to a merchandise that mightiness different look unfamiliar oregon risky. The spectator sees a personage they recognise, alternatively than an offshore institution operating down a screen. The connection becomes little astir gambling and much astir entertainment.

In 2025, erstwhile Indian cricketer Suresh Raina was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate arsenic portion of an probe into amerciable betting-app promotions. Reports said the probe besides examined different celebrities associated with platforms nether scrutiny.

But it is already excessively precocious for respective families. For the companies and networks that nett from betting, India’s 1.4 cardinal radical correspond a sizeable integer market.

For families specified arsenic Harish’s, though, online betting has meant thing wholly different. In Yedapally, the communicative began with a young antheral trying to marque wealth done his phone. It ended with 3 deaths.