A 40-year-old software engineer, who previously lost Rs 70 lakh to online rummy due to gambling addiction, has now fully recovered after undergoing mental therapy sessions for seven long months. The man promised to his family that he will never touch online rummy that left him due to the same reason and was able to reconcile.

Vikas was introduced to gambling in his teens through placing bets on local cricket matches in his village in Tumakuru. After graduating and having a successful position in a top IT firm in Bengaluru, the gambling addiction stayed with him.

Even after getting married back in 2014, Vikas continued to fuel his gambling addiction till he was caught playing online rummy by his wife in 2022. Due to the addiction, he was also unable to focus on his work and life.

As per The Times of India, Head of Parihar (women’s helpline), Rani Shetty said, “In October, she (Vikas’ wife) was shell-shocked to find her husband had lost Rs 70 lakh from their savings to online gambling. It was the tipping point for her, and she took her children and left for her mother’s place. Wanting to take up the matter legally, she approached KR Puram police station with a complaint against her husband’s online rummy addiction and the huge losses due to it”.

The wife was invited to elaborate the issue, where she told that due to his husband’s online rummy addiction, the family was facing financial and emotional burden. Parihar then invited him to the Malleswaram police station for further confrontation at the end of October 2022.

Giving a chance to the 40-year-old to ditch his gambling addiction, Shetty conducted several counselling sessions and helped him get in at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences for tech de-addiction therapy.

“Initially, he was indifferent and irritated by his wife’s complaint to the cops and insisted that she and the kids return home. But with her standing her ground that she would not do so unless he kicked the online gambling habit, he gradually started to come around. He broke down and said he wanted to win back his family and put an end to his addiction,” Shetty said.

A senior counsellor at Parihar reported that after seven months, the wife was extremely happy to see her husband free from gambling addiction and both of them were able to get together again.