Inside India's Devastating Online Gambling Crisis and the Human Cost of Digital Addiction

Nizamabad, India – When Harish began betting online, his family never imagined that a smartphone would ultimately consume their savings, land, and lives. The 22-year-old from Yedapally village in the Nizamabad district of India’s southern Telangana state started betting online during the COVID-19 pandemic. What began with small wagers steadily escalated into heavy losses and borrowing. Police report that Harish eventually spent approximately 1.8 million rupees (more than $21,000 in 2024) on betting and borrowed money from at least 12 people in his village.

His parents attempted to rescue him from his growing debt. His father, Ranganaveni Suresh, 53, was a farmer who also operated a grocery shop, while his mother, Hemalatha, 45, worked alongside him. The family sold a plot of land to clear a portion of what Harish owed, but it proved insufficient. As debts mounted further, Harish and his mother began working for a caterer to raise funds, though the pressure continued to escalate. On October 3, 2024, Harish and his parents died by suicide at their home.

“We did not know how much money he had borrowed until people started coming to our house asking for their money back. By then, the situation was already out of control,” said Mukesh Kumar, a cousin of Harish. This narrative is increasingly echoed across India as the nation grapples with the fast-evolving challenge of online gambling addiction. Industry reports indicate the country had about 591 million gamers in 2024, generating roughly $3.7bn, a figure projected to more than double to $9.1bn by 2029. Gaming involving money accounted for approximately 86 percent of industry revenue in 2024.

In 2025, the Indian Parliament enacted a law banning all online gaming involving money to close regulatory loopholes exploited by internet betting platforms. Nevertheless, smartphones, global connectivity, and black-market ecosystems have enabled online gambling to adapt and survive.

The tragedies in Yedapally offered a stark look at the risks within India's expanding online betting economy, where promises of quick money lure young users into cycles of repeated wagers, losses, and debt. Betting no longer requires bookmakers or physical shops; it happens on smartphones, often alongside cricket matches while advertisements flash winnings on the same screen. For many, a lost wager leads to another in an attempt to recover funds, turning small losses into massive, unmanageable debts.

Behind the legitimate gaming sector lies a hard-to-track illegal market. A 2025 report by public-policy organisation CUTS International estimated that the 15 largest unauthorised online betting platforms received over 5.4 billion visits from India during the 2024-25 financial year, with annual deposits reaching about $100bn. Prosecution documents from India’s financial crimes agency, the Enforcement Directorate, noted that a single app, Mahadev Online, generated roughly 430 billion rupees (about $5bn) over seven years.

In Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, 20-year-old aeronautical engineering student Selam Manoj died by suicide in February 2024 after becoming addicted to online games and betting, having borrowed 300,000 rupees (about $3,600) from friends. In another local case, 27-year-old cattle-feed trader Balagoni Pavan Kumar accumulated massive losses before dying by suicide. “The betting did not affect only him. The whole family paid the price. We lost our peace, our savings and the future we had planned,” said Kalpana, his sister.

Manoj Kumar Sharma, a professor of clinical psychology at the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), explained that casual gaming easily transitions into money games and higher-stakes gambling. “Wins can produce a strong sense of reward, while losses can create guilt and regret alongside the belief that the money can still be recovered,” Sharma noted.

To combat this, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act came into force on May 1, 2026, prohibiting online money games, their advertising, and financial transactions linked to them. However, offshore and illegal operators continue to bypass restrictions by shifting domains and utilizing messaging groups. Furthermore, the Advertising Standards Council of India identified thousands of offshore betting advertisements violating guidelines, involving numerous influencers and celebrities.

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina was notably questioned by the Enforcement Directorate regarding endorsements for online betting companies. While regulatory bodies crack down on celebrity endorsements and illegal apps, the human toll on families like Harish's serves as a grim reminder of the deadly consequences tied to India's digital betting crisis.