Since the inception of online betting in India, Indian cricketers and popular Bollywood and Kollywood stars have been the face of online betting. MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli, Sunny Leone and several other celebrities have appeared in advertisements promoting online betting games.
Recently, celebrity endorsements of online betting have not gone down too well with the Kerala High Court. The Kerala High Court issued a notice to India’s Cricket captain Virat Kohli and South Indian film actress Tamanna Bhatia. These celebrities are the brand ambassadors of online rummy games.
A division bench, headed by Chief Justice S Manikumar, also issued notice to Malayalam actor Aju Varghese in this regard. Aju Varghese is a popular face in Kerala cinema and is well known for his award winning comedy in movies such as ‘Oru Vadakkan Selfie’ & ‘Two Countries’.
The Kerala High Court also issued a plea to the state government seeking a ban on online gambling in the state.
Challenging the Kerala Gaming Act
Laws regarding online betting in India are determined by the state governments. The Kerala Gaming Act 1960, restricts gaming activities conducted in common gaming houses. Online gambling, wagering or betting activities do not fall in the ambit of this act because people can indulge in these activities from a private space.
The petition seeks a declaration that online gambling and online betting, more particularly “online rummy” are unlawful and illegal.
The petition also seeks to direct the State Government to take appropriate steps to ban all forms of online gambling and betting. The petitioner contends that the Kerala Gaming Act 1960 is inadequate to deal with challenges posed by online gambling as it does not have provisions covering activities done virtually via electronic devices.
What drove the petition?
The Petitioner, Pauly Vadakkan alleged that online gambling is now a growing menace in Kerala. As per the petition, the primary targets of online gambling are middle to low-income group people who are enticed to make easy money.
The petitioner alleged that there have been many reported cases across Kerala in which people have got scammed. He provided the reference of the recent alleged suicide of a 28-year old man, an ISRO employee hailing from Kattakkada in Thiruvananthapuram district. The petitioner said the man had fallen into the trap of online rummy games and pushed himself to a debt of Rs 21 lakh.
Platforms endorsed by celebrities, such as Kohli, Bhatia and Varghese, attract their audience with fake promises. However, in reality, the chances of winnings claimed are few.
What lies ahead?
The Kerala state government and the high court are to arrive at a final consensus in the next few weeks. It is anticipated that the recent developments in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh may influence the Kerala government’s stance on online betting.
Andhra Pradesh recently banned online betting. However, players in Kerala are hopeful that the government empowers citizens of Kerala to distinguish between right and wrong.
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