VIJAYAWADA: In a major decision, the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday decided to ban online betting games like rummy and poker and also take action including prison terms against those playing and organising them.
The state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy took the decision to ban online gambling. Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said online gambling was damaging the youth by misleading them and pushing them on the wrong path.
Venkataramaiah said those caught playing online games would attract imprisonment of six months. The organisers of online gambling would be imprisoned for a year, besides being penalised, for first-time offences. The jail term would go up to two years for the second offence.