B. Bhavani, a 29-year-old resident of India’s southern city of Chennai, used to sneak out from her bed in the middle of the night to play online card games like rummy. She had promised her husband several times she would quit, but she was already hooked.
As her addiction worsened, Bhavani’s savings started to disappear and debts began to mount.
She and her husband Bhagyaraj Rajena, parents of two young children, suffered losses of more than 2 million Indian rupees (€22,700, $24,200), as well as gold jewellery Bhavani had borrowed from her sisters.
In June this year, Bhavani took her own life.
