With easy access to smartphones, online payments and betting apps, online gambling has become a social and financial disaster for many people. For example, what may start as a small amount of betting can lead to ruinous losses, desperate loans and crippling debts.
A Devastating Tale of Online Betting
A horrific episode from Telangana illustrates what can happen in a worst-case scenario. A 22-year-old male resident of Yedapally village, Nizamabad district, became addicted to online betting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per police records, he lost around ₹18 lakh to online gamblers and took up loans from at least 12 people.
Despite an initial effort by the young man’s family to help pay off his debts:
• The family sold off a parcel of land,
• He and his mother took up jobs as caterers,
• They were still hounded by his creditors
Ultimately, the young man and his parents committed suicide on 3 October 2024. This shows how online gambling addiction can be devastating, not only for the person betting but also for his or her family.
India’s Booming Online Gambling Industry Makes Control Difficult
India has one of the world’s largest online-gaming audiences. As per the report that inspired this article, there were 591 million gamers in India in 2024.
The Indian online gaming industry is forecast to generate an impressive sum of money – around $3.7 billion in 2024 and was projected to reach around $9.1 billion by 2029.
Of this, money-based games accounted for a significant proportion.
India’s booming online-gaming industry has created fertile ground for rogue operators to lure people into illegal betting sites.
How Exactly Is Online Gambling Making People Broke?
Betting sites offer an easy, accessible and dangerously attractive alternative to traditional gambling. Some of the main methods used by online gambling sites to lure Indians into gambling are:
• Cricket betting and prediction games
• Fantasy-based games and money-based contests
• Promises of big money prizes through advertisements
• Aggressive social-media and affiliate marketing
• Celeb endorsements and influencer culture
• Easy online payments that let people gamble from home
People who lose money on online gambling are highly likely to continue trying to get more money by gambling again – in the hope that they will be able to recoup their losses.
Rogue Betting Sites Are Flourishing in India
India outlawed online gaming involving money in 2025. Despite that, online gamblers are finding new ways to fund their addiction. As per a 2025 report by CUTS International:
The 15 biggest illegal betting sites in India had more than 5.4 billion visits from Indian users in the 2024-25 financial year.
The same report estimated that there are around $100 billion in annual deposits in illegal online gambling sites – although those figures are probably exaggerated.
Why Is Online Gambling So Hard to Stop?
Online gambling’s appeal and addictive nature mean it has a huge footprint – in both social and financial terms. There are many reasons why it is so challenging to control.
• Online gambling sites and apps can be based anywhere in the world.
• New apps and sites can crop up almost immediately if older ones are shut down.
• Online payments can be hard to track.
• People can be wooed by social media.
• Gambling via smartphones can be private and discreet.
Conclusion
India’s online gambling conundrum can have disastrous consequences – not only for the person gambling but also for their families. Tighter enforcement of the law, tighter control of digital payments, social media awareness campaigns and easily accessible addiction recovery resources are critical to stemming the damage that online gambling is doing to Indians.
