India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits online money games, their advertising, promotion and facilitation. The law came into force on May 1, 2026, but offshore operators and illegal networks have continued adapting through new domains, social media accounts and private messaging groups.
The human cost is visible in cases across Telangana, where families have faced severe betting debts and suicides. Police and experts caution that gambling alone cannot establish the cause of a suicide, which can involve multiple factors.
How betting debts spread through families
In Yedapally village, police said 22-year-old Harish spent about 1.8 million rupees betting online and borrowed from at least 12 people. His parents sold land and later worked for a caterer as the family tried to repay the debts. Harish and both parents died by suicide at home on October 3, 2024.
Other Telangana cases show how repayment may not end the problem. Hyderabad student Selam Manoj reportedly borrowed 300,000 rupees before dying by suicide in February 2024 after his family repaid the debt. Cattle-feed trader Balagoni Pavan Kumar also continued betting after his father had cleared earlier debts, according to police. Read the context: Why India’s exam crisis has become a national student protest.
Key points
- India had about 591 million gamers in 2024, while its online gaming sector generated about $3.7bn.
- Money-based gaming accounted for about 86 percent of sector revenue in 2024.
- CUTS International estimated that 15 major unauthorised betting platforms received more than 5.4 billion visits from India during the 2024–25 financial year.
- The Advertising Standards Council of India identified and escalated 7,927 offshore betting advertisements in 2025 and identified 854 influencers involved in promotions between April and December.
Why online gambling is hard to contain
Betting can now take place on a smartphone during a cricket match, with advertisements and promotions appearing alongside sports content. A user may first encounter a product as fantasy sports or a prediction game presented as entertainment, knowledge or skill. After a loss, the effort to recover the money can lead to larger wagers and new loans.
A 2025 CUTS International report estimated annual deposits on illegal gambling platforms at about $100bn and documented phone banking, mule accounts and mobile applications used to move money. The report’s figure is an estimate rather than an official measurement of India’s gambling market. Related coverage: India Faces Growing Heat Crisis as Deaths Increase in Poorest Regions.
What the law prohibits and what remains difficult
The 2025 law covers online money games based on chance, skill or a combination of the two. It also bars banks and payment systems from facilitating transactions connected with prohibited games and gives authorities powers to block unlawful services.
Enforcement agencies face operators that can return under different domains, redirect users through affiliates or private groups and operate from outside India. In June 2026, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting warned celebrities and influencers against promoting offshore betting and gambling platforms, including through surrogate advertising.
Why losses can become a wider mental-health crisis
Manoj Kumar Sharma, a clinical psychology professor at NIMHANS, said wins can create a strong reward response while losses can produce guilt alongside the belief that money can still be recovered. That expectation can keep people gambling as losses rise.
A 2026 meta-analysis of 14 observational studies found significant associations between gambling disorder and suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide mortality. The strength of those associations varied across studies and regions, so the research does not show that gambling alone caused any individual death.
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