Lifestyle

The Ever-Growing Craze For Online Rummy – Is It All Fun & Games?

With almost everyone owning a smartphone now, getting online to play your favourite game is really not a big deal. And with this increasing phenomenon, people of all ages are hooked onto online gaming. Card games have always been popular in India, being a key part of some festivities for both the elders and children. Weather a social gathering or casual gathering, a card game is a must in most households. Now, with online gaming in place, the craze for Online Rummy has reached a whole new level.

While Indians have tried their hand at many card games, it is Rummy that gains the most attention. While we might not all know the rules of rummy, we all have at least heard of the game – especially the online version – thanks to excessive branding featuring film stars that stare you in the face everywhere you virtually go. Earlier, the legality of it was sketchy but thanks to the Supreme Court declaring it as a ‘game of skills’, there seems no end in sight to this madness.

One just needs access to a PC, smartphone or tablet to play a game of Online Rummy. There are umpteen gaming websites that offer you amazing bonuses and deals on signing up with them. There are also numerous tournaments held that let you win big in cash, coupons or gifts. Sounds an amazing way to spend time and make some money right? After all, all you need other than the internet is a good hold over numerics, sharp observation and good decision making skills to win this game. Wrong!

Gambling is gambling weather it’s virtual or reality. In a recent case in Vijayawada, a 32 year old committed suicide by taking sleeping pills because he was depressed over losing money on an online gambling site called Rummy Circle. He was a gamer who got addicted to Online Rummy after getting a new smartphone. He would sometimes lose all his earnings online and not be left with enough to even pay his rent. He would borrow money from his friends too, burrowing further into debt. He got attracted to the aggressive marketing employed by these gaming portals online, losing all his savings and eventually even losing his job as a lab technician at a hospital.

It is a known fact that these Online Rummy sites generate huge revenue to the Indian gaming industry, with the country touted to become the second largest mobile gaming market in the world. But to only look at the same with rose-tinted glasses on serves nobody as the cons keep outweighing the pros.

Round off your opinions in the comments below & share this post if you agree or know someone already addicted to these games.