Online gambling addiction, also known as pathological gambling, is considered to be a progressive illness as it does not happen overnight. A game that begins as a distraction or diversion turns into obsession and eventually addiction, over a period of time. The urge to continue spending money despite realizing how largely it affects the individual's personal as well as professional life happens when an area in the brain, called the insula, tends to be overactive. According to reports, this hyperactive region may lead to distorted thinking, as a result of which an addict sees patterns in random sequences and continues to gamble after near misses. The brain apparently responds to the act of gambling in the same way that an alcoholic's brain responds to a drink.

The wife of a victim of one such online gambling game, called 'online rummy,' has opened up to Indiaglitz Tamil about how she spent months in agony after her husband to refused to quit the game despite their family practically going into bankruptcy. Not only did he spend over Rs. 1.5 crores of their savings on the game but he even resorted to borrowing money from his friends/relatives to feed his addiction. According to a KPMG report, the online real money gaming industry is estimated at Rs. 2200 crore and is growing at 30% annually and would touch Rs. 12,000 crore by 2023.

Several weeks ago, the Tamil Nadu government informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that it was considering banning online games due to its impact on people, especially youngsters, leading some of them to the extent of suicide. On Friday, the state government banned online gaming in Tamil Nadu with a fine of up to Rs. 5000 and imprisonment of up to six months. The ordinance, promulgated by Governor Banwarilal Purohit, mentioned that the state had decided to ban online gaming to avoid such incidents of suicide and protect innocent people from the evils of online gaming. The ordinance also bans 'electronic transfer of funds' used for wagering or betting, distribute the winnings, prize money.'