Plea in Madras High Court Seeks Arrest of Virat Kohli

Star cricketer Virat Kohli has found himself at the centre of a plea from a Chennai advocate that wants to arrest all those running online gambling sites and the celebrities and brand ambassadors that endorse them.

A plea filed in the Madras High Court by A. P. Suryapraksam points out gambling online remains a criminal offence in India. It also highlights that online gambling losses have been linked to a recent rise in youth suicides in Tamil Nadu.

Celebrities like Kohli are being used to brainwash and lure the young into losing money playing online rummy, poker, and other games the writ says. The plea reads: "This gambling addiction is more dangerous to the society and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as it infringes right to life. Hence this writ petition seeking ban."

Speaking to WION, the petitioner added further comments about the harm of online gambling saying: "In online gambling the damage is done in a short span, whereas alcohol and cigarettes take about 15 years to harm an individual. They are being lured in to play by celebrities who endorse it using their influence in the public minds."

"Youth begin with pocket money, income and then exhaust family savings, later lend money. When the lender goes to their residence and embarrasses them, they take the extreme step. There are many cases like this in recent times and many more such unfortunate cases will emerge in the coming months, when youth are unemployed and idle."

The matter is likely to be heard tomorrow or Wednesday. The Madras Hugh Court made headlines last week when a senior judge proposed a law to regulate online gaming and gambling.

Kohli signed on as a brand ambassador of Mobile Premier League (MPL) for another year in January. MPL is one of India's biggest mobile gaming platforms.