We are very concerned over the addiction of our youths, particularly college and university students, to gambling on social media platforms. Around 50 lakh people of the country are involved in online gambling, State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak says.
Taking advantage of the technological development, some gangs are carrying out criminal activities online such as gambling, cryptocurrency and hundi trading.
As a result, money laundering is increasing, and the country is losing a lot of foreign currency.
Our children of different ages are at serious risk of falling prey to the online gamblers. Even many retired persons are getting involved in onling gambling. A total of 2,600 gambling sites have already been blocked and now mobile apps are being blocked.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has also suspended 48,586 personal Mobile Financial Services accounts on charges of involvement in online gambling, betting, and hundi trade.
Many people are losing
everything by participating
in online gambling
Many people are losing everything by participating in online gambling. Many of them are falling in deep financial crisis. They even are losing their ancestral homes, putting their famililies in deep trouble. Because of their addiction to gambling, many end their marriage.
Social values, education, and culture are being destroyed and young generations are spoiling their life by spending too much time playing online games. Teenagers are engaging themselves in various anti-social activities. They are getting involvsed in criminal activities, creating juvenile gang culture across the country.
Despite the directives from the apex court, there appears to be a lack of visible measures to curb this trend. Gambling is being advertised on so-called satellite channels and social media platforms.
The authorities concerned must restrict gambling-related advertisements to protect a significant portion of the population, particularly the youth, from falling prey to online gambling. Although all types of gambling are illegal as per the the country’s existing laws, they are being promoted by using various strategies.
Flashy advertisements for different betting sites are presented in ‘surrogate’ formats in traditional media during broadcast of popular sporting events like the IPL, BPL, or others. Taking into account this worrying situation, the government should enact a law in consultation with related stakeholders to check the illegal online activities.
The country has been losing foreign currency due to increase in online gambling and hundi trade. We also hope the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, BFIU, and law enforcement agencies will work together to prevent online gambline to protect our children.