Six people in Karnataka have died by suicide due to online rummy, Home Minister G Parameshwara told the Assembly on Tuesday, December 18. Replying to a question from Yeshwantpur MLA ST Somashekar during the winter session in Belagavi, he said that five such deaths occurred in Bengaluru and one in Vijayanagar district.
He said that in 2022 the Karnataka High Court struck down amendments to the Karnataka Police Act banning online gambling and that the state government had challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court.
Although the Minister said there were six deaths, media reports suggest the number might be higher. A 23-year-old student from Bhalki in Bidar district who was studying in Kalaburagi took his life two weeks ago, allegedly due to debts racked up from online gaming and betting. A family of three, including an 11-year-old girl, were found dead in the Hemavathi channel in Hassan district in August. According to the police, the man was addicted to online rummy and had incurred losses.
The issue was raised in the Assembly on Monday too, with MLAs from all parties expressing concern. BJP MLA from Basavakalayan, Sharanu Salagar, said that young people in rural areas, especially those from north Karnataka, were falling prey to online betting and gaming. Narendra Swamy of the Congress called for stringent action.
In February this year, Parameshwara told the Assembly that the state government was considering enacting a law to ban online gaming and cricket betting. He also urged the Union government that it should not allow online betting to continue just because it was getting 28% GST proceeds from gaming transactions
In February 2022, the Karnataka High Court struck down certain provisions of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021 as ultra vires to the Constitution. The amendments banned online gaming and betting. Under the law, violators could be penalised with a maximum imprisonment of three years and fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.
The High Court passed the order after several groups approached the High Court challenging the ban. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for one of the petitioners, said that the law did not distinguish between games of chance and games of skill. He said that the state government did not have the jurisdiction to ban games of skill.
In February, IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge said in the Assembly that there was a need for both the state and the Union governments to come up with definitions for games of chance and games of skill.
In October this year, the Namma Karnataka Sena held a protest in Kalaburagi district in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Protesters said that youth were accumulating loans for this purpose.
Laws passed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu to curb online betting were also struck down by courts.