The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology does not maintain any data about the incidents of financial losses and suicides as a result of online gambling in the country, it said in response to a question in the Parliament. Thirunavukkarasar Su., a Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, had raised questions about online gambling in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He asked MEITY whether it was aware of the suicide and financial losses suffered and whether it maintained records of the incidents. He also asked whether the government has any proposal to set up a self-regulatory body to standardise regulations governing the online gaming sector and details about any such moves. Sanjay Dhotre, the Minister of State at MEITY, simply stated that betting and gambling are state subjects under the Constitution, and hence state government have framed their own laws and regulations. Police and public order are also state subjects; so they are responsible for prevention and investigations. "The Law Enforcement Agencies take legal action against the cybercrime offenders as per the provisions of applicable laws," MEITY said. The central government's think tank, NITI Aayog, had proposed a government-recognised self-regulatory organisation for online 'fantasy sports' or 'fantasy gaming' platforms such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League, My11Circle. These companies offer games played for stakes and depending on the state one is regulated in, is either termed gambling or termed skill-based gambling. While many states permit skill-based games with stakes, the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have outlawed all forms…
