Online betting: 24 people die by suicide in Telangana; actors, social influencers fuel crisis

Hyderabad: A 20-year-old youth died by suicide in Hyderabad after suffering huge losses in cricket betting in July 2023. Identified as Satish Babu, he ended his life in a private hostel under the limits of Chikkadpally police station.

Satish had taken loans from various sources for betting during the Indian Premier League (IPL). While his family had cleared part of the debts, he was depressed over not being able to repay the remaining debts.

Seven months later, a 20-year-old engineering student died by suicide in Hyderabad after allegedly losing Rs 3 lakh in online betting games. He was addicted to playing online games and slowly started using online betting applications.

These are not isolated cases. Over 24 people ended their lives in Telangana after they were unable to pay debts incurred due to online betting from 2023, according to reports. Talented young people have fallen into a death trap, though only a few have voiced their alarm.

Many victims end up in debt after losing big sums of money in online betting. They suffer in silence, unable to communicate their financial difficulties with friends or family, and eventually commit suicide. In other cases, entire families have committed suicide as a result of extreme financial stress. The situation is particularly serious for students who have developed an addiction to online gaming.

Taking serious note of the youth ending their lives by suicide after suffering huge financial loss, the Telangana Police has intensified their vigil and cracked a whip on the social media influencers and celebrities. Cases were booked against 25 people, including actors Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Vijay Devarakonda, Manchu Lakshmi, and Nidhi Agarwal for allegedly promoting online betting apps.

On March 17, Panjagutta Police filed cases against 11 actors and social media influencers, including Imran Khan, Harsha Sai, Tasty Teja, Kiran Goud, Vishnu Priya, Shyamala, Rithu Chowdhary, Bandaru Sheshayani Supritha, Ajay, Sunny and Sudheer, on charges of allegedly promoting betting apps.

Vinay Vangala (40), a private employee from Matrusri Nagar, filed a complaint alleging that mobile apps and websites promoting gambling activities violated the Public Gambling Act of 1867.

In Telangana, it is illegal to download online betting apps because the ban was implemented in 2017. However, the internet gives access to all legally restricted apps through a backdoor and online betting continues to thrive, pushing several families into distress. Here’s a look at its impact in Telangana:

Tragic deaths linked to online betting

June 2023: Avisetti Rajeswari of Choutuppal in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district ended her life after allegedly drowning her two sons in a water sump after she lost money betting on online gaming sites. Rajeswari’s children were Anirudh (5) and Harshvardhan (3). Her husband Mallesh is a truck driver.

June 2023: B Uday Bhaskar, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) student, from Warangal, reportedly lost Rs 46,000 while playing online rummy from his mother’s mobile phone. Bhaskar was found by his father hanging from the ceiling fan in his bedroom.

February 2024: A software engineer, unable to repay his debts after losing over Rs. 20 lakh in betting and trading, killed his wife and two children and then committed suicide.

April 2024: A man killed his wife and son before ending his life at Bandlaguda in Rajendranagar over financial problems. Differences arose between the couple after Anand developed an addiction to online gambling, resulting in significant financial losses.

July 2024: A 24-year-old B.Tech third-year student who was addicted to online betting and spent Rs 1 lakh college fee on betting ended life by jumping before a moving train between Cherlapally and Ghatkesar railway station. The victim, identified as R. Nitin, a resident of Saibabanagar, Lingampet, and a native of Ravindra Nagar Nalgonda district. Nitin was upset after he spent after he recently stacked and lost the entire Rs 1 lakh college fee on online betting.

August 2024: A 28-year-old youth K. Sai Kumar ended his life by suicide on Monday at the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal at Haliya in Nalgonda district. Sai Kumar, who was a native of Nehru Nagar in Nalgonda, had reportedly resorted to the extreme step as he was facing Rs 2 crore losses in a betting app.

October 2024: A couple and their son hanged themselves at their home in Telangana's Nizamabad district after they were unable to repay debts of Rs 30 lakh incurred by the son through online gambling. Those who died were identified as Ranganaveni Suresh (53), his wife Hemalatha (45), and their son Harish (22). Harish was addicted to online mobile games during the Covid-19 pandemic and his addiction had led the family to have a debt of Rs 30 lakh.

December 2024: A 37-year-old waiter who was addicted to online betting died by suicide, reportedly because he was unable to repay the money.

December 2024: A 21-year-old immolated himself in Maheshwaram after accumulating huge debts through online betting apps. Sai Kiran, a first-year degree student at a Hyderabad college, who was addicted to online betting, locked himself in his room and set himself on fire. He was rushed to a hospital with severe burns and succumbed during treatment.

December 2024: Frustrated over the financial crisis, four members of a family suicide by consuming pesticide. Preliminary investigation revealed that Prasad, who is an employee at a private company, invested in online games, betting, and the share market to make easy money but ended up losing it.

January 2025: A 23-year-old man Alisetti Sai from Adilabad committed suicide after becoming addicted to online betting.

January 2025: A young man named Raj Kumar committed suicide after losing around 30 lakhs in online betting apps.

February 2025: Upset over losing huge money to online games, a youth died by suicide at Khanamet in Madhapur. SM Aravind (23), a degree student at a private college, was staying with his parents and siblings in a rented house in Khanamet.

February 2025: Sanjay, a software employee, became addicted to online betting and eventually got into debt of up to Rs 80 lakhs. However, when his creditors pressured him to repay the loans, he committed suicide due to depression and could not continue with his life.

February 2025: A 27-year-old Ajijudden committed suicide with Rs 30 lakh debt in online betting in Khammam.

March 2025: A young man named Nikhil Rao committed suicide after losing money in online betting apps.