SC to begin final hearing of pleas seeking ban on betting apps

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked the parties to complete the pleadings in the case.

The petitions were filed by evangelist KA Paul and the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) seeking directions to the Central government to prohibit online gambling and betting platforms that allegedly operate under the guise of social and e-sports games.

Earlier, the bench had sought a response from the Centre, Google India, TRAI, Apple India, Dream 11 fantasy, Mobile Premium League, A23 Games and others on the petition.

The plea filed by Paul asked the Centre to enact a uniform central law prohibiting or regulating online and offline betting and gambling.

The petitioner said that it was unfortunate that top cricketers, actors and influencers are endorsing such betting, due to which children were getting lured to betting.

"I am here on behalf of millions of parents whose children have died in the past couple of years. More than 1,023 people committed suicide in Telangana. The aggressive advertising by actors, cricketers, and influencers misleads youth into gambling, making them financially vulnerable and addicted," he had said while seeking directions to prohibit celebrity and influencer endorsements of betting Apps.

Paul had said thousands of families across India have suffered economic losses due to unregulated betting.

The petition further submitted, "Investigations reveal that unregulated betting platforms serve as fronts for money laundering and black money transactions, violating the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002."

Paul had further said that over 24 suicides in Telangana alone in the last 1.5 years have been directly linked to debt traps created by gambling platforms, with many more cases nationwide.

Without immediate intervention, thousands of innocent people will continue to suffer irreversible financial und psychological damage, the petition stated. (ANI)