Phoolchand, a junior school teacher from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is one of the countless victims. He lost a staggering ₹1.5 crore playing online games like Rummy Circle, Game Rummy Play, and Red and Black Roulette since November 2024. “He took loans against his salary, borrowed from relatives – all lost,” says his wife Urmila, detailing their fall into hardship.
The government has ensured that gullible citizens fascinated by get rich quick schemes and a rush of dopamine do not lose their hard earned money in online gaming.
In a swift move, India’s Parliament passed the Ban on Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, unfortunately, after minimal debate. This was aiming to curb the alarming rise of online gaming addiction sweeping the nation. This law is being challenged as it could cause a loss of $3.7 billion gaming industry (2025) could collapse, with 86% of revenue from real-money gaming formats. Over 1 lakh jobs could vanish across engineering, design, and content creation.”
That said, Phoolchand’s addiction was hurtful for him and his family. It began when he won ₹18 lakhs after investing ₹7 lakhs – a lucky win that hooked him irreparably. Nights were spent glued to gaming apps that left school fees of three of his children unpaid. Finally, parents threw him out of his ancestral home. Now, the family of five ekes out its desperate existence in a rented house. He has a debt of ₹49 lakh hanging over the family. Finally, he lodged a complaint with UP Cyber Crime Police.
Phoolchand’s wife, Urmila, hopes the ban will serve as a timely shield. “Had online gaming been banned earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have fallen so deep in the abyss of debt,” she says wistfully. Phoolchand’s nightmarish tale echoes with others like Dheeraj Sharma (Gurgaon call center), who lost ₹20 lakh on Dream11, Quick Chance ROULETTE. He was forced to sell his property to cope with his huge loss.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may back the law, that serves as a protective shield for youth against gambling’s, but he does not want to smother gaming innovation.
When Health on Air (HOA) spoke to Nazara Technologies, Mumbai office. Arun Bhandari, India’s only listed game company offering titles like the World Cricket Championship, Chotta Bheem race, and many more real-money online games said, “ban on Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, warns that bans might push users to unregulated offshore sites, harming India’s digital economy. Legal challenges loom questioning constitutional validity.
“Companies like Bagheera Carrom have challenged the law in High Courts, questioning constitutional validity (Articles 14, 19, 21),” he stated.
Dr. Bhavuk Garg, Professor of Psychiatry, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi
According to Dr. Bhavuk Garg, Professor of Psychiatry, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, “Online gaming leads to increase in Impulsiveness in teens. They start taking decisions without thinking about consequences and become impatient and restless.”
“It leads to an increase in generation of Dopamine in the brain, the same chemical involved in substance use disorders as well. This explains the addiction potential of online gaming and also leads to later development of substance use disorders,” he said.
Further he stated, “online gaming leads to social isolation. Teens spend most of their time online and neglect real world social connect. This can lead to development of Social Anxiety, increased stress and even psychiatric problems like Depression, and Anxiety Disorder.”
Dr Shalini Achra All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) said, “Some research has shown benefits of gaming- like problem solving skills, but the bill never talked about the upside to gaming. The truth is that in the current age of technology, it’s difficult to keep teens away from such devices. However, a clear regulation of time spent, involvement of money and the content (eg. violent) is required. And the risks of gaming usually outweigh the benefits.”
“It is also a fact that a ban on online real-money gaming could protect the mental health of the young as the academic performance of the child could collapse” claims Dr. Achra.
(Cover Representational Image. Photo Courtesy: Canva)
