In order to create awareness against online gaming addiction, activists from the Lok Sangharsh Party on Tuesday, December 12 staged an unusual demonstration which involved playing Teen Patti and Rummy in front of the Pune Collector’s office.

The protestors included the president of the party Yogesh Makene, organizer Shivam Potdar, Abhijit Kulkarni and other members. “If these activities can be done online with minimal restrictions, why can’t it be done the traditional way,” they asked, demanding similar and strict laws for online gaming, too.

They said the motive behind the protest is to make people aware of the ill-effects of online gaming, especially for younger generations. The protestors also urged the state government to formulate stringent laws to regulate online gaming.

The protestor’s act gained a lot of traction among local citizens and employees working at the collector’s office. Many praised the stance, saying that appropriate regulatory measures are indeed required, reported Punekar News.

For the past few months, the Lok Sangharsh Party has been urging the state government to take strict action against online gaming. However, the state government hasn’t done anything about it, claimed the party.

Tired of both the central government and the state government not paying any attention to the matter, Advocate Makene warned that a similar large-scale protest named “Patte Khela (let’s play cards)” is also planned to be held in front of the ministry.

The party representatives demanded that the government should make policies relating to online gaming in the next two months, failing which the party will go ahead with their “Patte Khela” protest.

The Centre, on the other hand, is still deliberating on creating necessary policies for the sector despite announcing the new amendments. Meanwhile, a new Group of Ministers will be meeting on December 15 to discuss the issues related to online gaming.