PMK leader and Rajya Sabha member Dr A. Ramadoss on Monday said that suicides are rising in Tamil Nadu due to prevalence of the online gambling websites. The Former Union Minister for Health in a series of tweets said that suicides have considerably decreased when the AIDMK led government enacted an online gaming ban law. The law was, however, struck down as being unconstitutional by the Madras High Court in August this year.
Mr Ramadoss said that gambling became rampant after the Madras High Court decision. The MP cited an example of one victim, a software engineer from Kumarapalayam who committed himself after losing Rs 30 lakh in online rummy. Another victim a resident of Tambaram Anandapuram committed suicide recently after losing money in online gambling. In November, we reported the suicide of a man hailing from the Palayakkadu Rajamama area of Tiruppur district committing suicide after incurring losses in online rummy.
புதுவை மாநிலம் குமராப்பாளையத்தை சேர்ந்த மென்பொருள் பொறியாளர் அமர்நாத் ஆன்லைன் ரம்மியில் ரூ.30 லட்சத்தை இழந்ததால் மனம் உடைந்து தற்கொலை செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறார். அவரை நம்பியிருந்த 3 மாதம் கருவுற்ற மனைவி ஆதரவற்றவராகியிருக்கிறார். (1/5)#BanOnlineGambling
— Dr ANBUMANI RAMADOSS (@draramadoss) December 27, 2021
Ramdoss alleged that despite the Tamil Nadu government’s announcement that a new law will be enacted, no action has been taken so far. The appeal was not heard in the Supreme Court either. He said that suicides cannot be allowed to continue until the decision of the Supreme Court. Ramadoss has been one of the fiercest critics of online gambling and its impact in the southern state.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”ta” dir=”ltr”>திருவொற்றியூரில் இடிந்த வீடுகளில் வாழ்ந்தவர்களுக்கும், அச்சம் காரணமாக அருகிலுள்ள வீடுகளில் இருந்து வெளியேறியவர்களுக்கும் திருவொற்றியூர் பகுதியிலேயே உடனடியாக வீடுகளை ஒதுக்க தமிழ்நாடு அரசு நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்!(3/4)<a href=”https://twitter.com/CMOTamilnadu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CMOTamilnadu</a></p>— Dr ANBUMANI RAMADOSS (@draramadoss) <a href=”https://twitter.com/draramadoss/status/1475692721369075713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
It may be noted that the Madras High Court on 3 August 2021 struck down in its entirety the amendment to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act which banned online games including online rummy and online poker with stakes, in what many in India’s online gaming businesses described as a landmark verdict.
The Court said that by imposing a wide-ranging, complete ban, the amendment has failed the least intrusive test and fallen afoul of Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution. Court noted that the challenged amendment was capricious, irrational, excessive, and disproportionate. “Nothing in this order will prevent the government from introducing appropriate legislation on the issue conforming to Constitutional principles of propriety,” the Court stated.
The government had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on the matter. In the appeal, the government raised the issue of youth suicides due to online gambling addiction as one of the reasons for enacting a ban. In the appeal before the Supreme Court, the government raised the issue of youth suicides due to online gambling addiction as one of the reasons for enacting a ban.
The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court days after the quashing decision stated that it expects the Tamil Nadu government to bring in law within six months to ban online gaming for stakes in the state after S Muthukumar, a Madurai-based advocate, in a petition sought to impose a ban on online rummy.