Kartik Srinivas (name change) still flinched when it comes to online betting. Initially excited to make money, earning a five-year addiction, which made the 26-year-old save, reassurance and almost lose his future.

Between 2019 and 2024, Srinivas lost more than Rs 1.5 lakh ($17,000; £13,000). The money includes his three-year income, as well as savings and loans for friends and family.

“I tried everything – apps, local bets, international platforms. I was fascinated,” he said.

By 2024, his losses are deeply in trouble.

Srinivas’ story reflects the dark side of India’s once booming Real Currency Gaming (RMG) industry – players use online platforms to bet on cash poker, fantasy sports and other games.

A few days ago, India passed a bill to ban these games and believed they became increasingly addictive and led to financial troubles for people.

The new law can impose or enable such services and impose a fine of up to three years in prison, up to Rs 10 million. Although users are considered victims, not criminals, the penalty that facilitates them is Rs. 5 million for two years.

The government has defended the move to protect consumers from gambling.

Federal IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said online currency games hurt 450 million Indians, causing losses of more than Rs 20,000 crore and triggering many. The source of the data presented in Parliament last week is unclear.

But many in the industry call the ban a knee move, which they say paralyzed a thriving sector and hurt those trying to protect.

Prior to the ban, India had about 400 RMG startups, with taxes of nearly $2.3 billion per year and supported more than 200,000 jobs. One of them Dream11 even sponsored cricket teams in India.

This is the first federal law to ban online betting platforms, although the industry has long faced scrutiny, such as Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have enforced their own bans. In 2023, the federal government imposes a 28% tax on online gaming betting.

However, the industry has flourished, attracting large global investors and celebrity representatives.

Mumbai-based gaming lawyer Jay Sayta told the BBC the ban was a “huge setback” for investors who have invested millions of dollars in these startups.

He said that although the industry needs some regulations, the law is a hurry to introduce without consultation.

Most notable is Dream11 – worth $8 billion, once the chief sponsor of Indian cricket team – and the $2.5 billion My11circle, a partner in the Indian Premier League (the richest cricket game in the world). Both have closed real estate game operations.

One of the key controversies in the industry is that the law does not distinguish between “skill games” (which involve decision-making, talent and knowledge) and “opportunity games” that rely solely on luck. It has been banned.

In the past, several Indian High Courts have considered online currency games to be in the skill category and cannot be considered gambling.

In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the courts even beat state-level bans on the gaming platform for these reasons. In 2022, the Supreme Court of India upheld the ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Courts, which categorized fantasy sports as a “skill game”.

Smrita Singh Chandra, who earlier managed a policy newsletter on Dream11, wrote on LinkedIn that the ban was “no transition, nuance or consideration of economic reality.”

Mr Sayta noted that the company has invested in and established a business model around these court rulings.

The Indian Games Federation believes that closing the “regulated and responsible Indian platform” will put millions of players in the hands of illegal networks, offshore gambling sites and nighttime flight operators who operate without any safeguards and consumer protection.

In many Indian cities, bets have been made through local gamblers who have no supervision, which is often more exploitative than online platforms.

Bets are usually circulated through WhatsApp or Telegram groups, where links are shared with hundreds of users at once. Overseas gaming apps also remain impossible to reach, as many use VPNs to address restrictions.

But the government believes that even legal real estate The game platform runs on “Opaque Algorithm” This almost prevents the user from winning – some experts reverberate.

Vishal Gondal, co-founder of video game company NCore Games, told the BBC that robots are often played unconsciously in competitions like online rummy, a popular card game.

Mr Gondal added that the algorithms of these robots are designed to favor gaming platforms to ensure that it almost always becomes the ultimate winner.

“These games are essentially gambling,” Gundal said. “Calling them as skills games is like using alcohol as a brand of fermented juice.”

But others like Mr. Srinivawa were shocked by the suddenness of the move.

Even if he no longer works, he says the rising awareness of the harm of gambling is much more effective than imposing a blanket ban.

“There is at least some responsibility to use these apps – without them, things could get worse.”

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