Indian MP calls on government to ban lotteries and online betting
Sushil Kumar Modi said action is needed to safeguard economic and social interests.
India.- Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sushil Kumar Modi has called on the government to introduce legislation to curb paper lotteries and online betting, citing their adverse impact on teenagers and children.
Speaking at the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s bicameral parliament, Kumar Modi said that 15 states and all Union Territories banned paper lotteries, but Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab and some northeastern states still had legal operations.
He said: “I request the government to bring suitable legislation for curbing the menace of lottery and online betting to safeguard the economic and social interest of the people.”
He added: “Online betting platforms entail many associated risks that can range from addiction, debt creation and debt trap, disassociation from family life and society, medical illness, and aggression to loss of life. Such exploitative platforms also affect the nation’s children and youth.”
Kumar Modi said the governments of Kerala and West Bengal received Rs4,911 crore from paper lotteries in FY2021 and Rs10,270 crore in FY2019.
Earlier this week, former chief minister V. Narayanasamy urged the National Democratic Alliance government of the Union Territory of Puducherry to ban online gambling. At a press conference, Narayanasamy said online gambling was causing financial difficulty for people in Puducherry and said the government had promised legislation to ban it. Other Indian jurisdictions, including the state of Tamil Nadu, have banned online gambling.
