PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss led a protest at Egmore here on Friday, demanding an Act against online gambling.
He criticised the DMK government for not bringing in a law to ban online gambling after the earlier ban was quashed by the Madras High Court. But he welcomed the government’s decision to form a committee, headed K. Chandru, a retired judge of the High Court, to look into the issue.
Addressing the protesters, he said alcohol, drugs and online gambling were the major problems that affected the next generation in Tamil Nadu. Online gambling was widespread among the youth, and it had claimed many lives since 2014. “The PMK and its founder Dr. S. Ramadoss have been protesting against it for the last seven years. We won’t tolerate this any more. We demand an immediate ban,” he said.
“Before the State government banned online gambling in November 2020 through an ordinance and later by a law in February 2021, around 60 suicides [as a result of online gambling] were recorded. Between November 2020 and August 2021, there were no deaths. Since the day the ban was overturned in August 2021, around 23 persons have taken their own lives,” he said. “Law Minister Regupathy had said a law would be enacted,” but he changed his position later and said the High Court’s verdict would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
“Nothing is going to be achieved in the Supreme Court if the State government is going to appeal [in favour of] the same law [that was quashed]. The online gambling is affecting families from all economic strata,” Dr. Anbumani said.
According to him, the taxes to the Centre from online gambling could be ₹40,000 crore in the coming years, and online rummy was not a game of skill but a game of luck.
