Hyderabad: If caught gambling online, you will now have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 and undergo one year’s imprisonment. The penalty and imprisonment will be doubled for the second offence.
These are some of the stringent provisions of the Ordinance that was passed by the Telangana state Cabinet on Saturday to amend the Gaming Act.
The Ordinance has been referred to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan for approval, which is expected in a day or two. The Ordinance also has tougher provisions to check offline betting and matka.
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, who briefed the media on the Cabinet meeting on Saturday, said that after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao ordered a crackdown on gambling soon after the formation of Telangana state all the gambling clubs across the state have vanished.
“But it came to the notice of the government that people are shifting to online gambling,” he said.
Online gamblers under lens
If caught gambling online, you will now have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 and undergo one year’s imprisonment. The penalty and imprisonment will be doubled for the second offence. Deputy CM Kadiam Srihari said the Ordinance has been passed to avoid delays in imposing the ban. Official sources said the TS government was inspired by the Singapore legislation banning online gambling. The Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act was enacted in 1974, and was adopted by TS in 2014.
Cyber police will keep watch on online gambling sites and track people who log on. The services of Internet service providers will also be used to track gamblers. The government will also block online bank accounts, credit/debit card payments linked to gambling services. The state will seek the Union IT ministry’s help to block gambling sites.
