Chennai: Days after woman’s death, PMK to protest against online gambling
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Days after a woman died by suicide in Chennai after failing to pay the debts she acquired by playing online rummy, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president and former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss announced that his party will stage a protest urging the state government to enact a law against online gambling.
In a statement, Anbumani said the state government has not taken any steps to prevent online gambling and added that the delay will further affect the poor and the middle class. Referring to data on online gambling, Anbumani said gambling websites are expected to fetch a revenue of Rs 15,400 crore from the current financial year and by 2025, this figure is expected to grow to Rs 38,500 crore. Tamil Nadu, he said, is expected to lose Rs 3,080 crore by this year and Rs 7,700 crore in the next two years to online gaming.
The PMK leader claimed that there were no deaths due to online gambling when there was a blanket ban by the state government but after the ban was lifted, in the last 10 months, close to 22 people have ended their lives.
“Though the Tamil Nadu government accepts the fact that online gambling is harmful and assures that the public will be protected from it, it is not ready to enact a new law based on the recommendations of the high court to regulate online gambling which is the only solution for the issue,” Anbumani noted.
The Anbumani-led PMK is set to stage a protest on Friday, June 10 at 11 am at Rajarathinam playground in Egmore.
