A screenshot of an online poker game at a popular social networking website in session. Currently, Online Poker is all the rage in Nagaland, with many people getting addicted to the game, to the extent of individuals found selling and buying poker chips.
Dimapur | August 20 : Blah-Blah, 29 years, working professional, after a hard day’s work returns home late at night, only to switch on his computer and log on to play his favorite online poker game. Like several others in Nagaland, he is getting ready to play online poker until the wee hours. From what started as a pass time has slowly grown into an addiction.
Online poker is gaining popularity, even more than one can imagine. It’s a very good probability that you might even know someone who is hooked to online poker. The game appeals to many, even non-gamblers, for the myriad reason; like the fact that one can gamble ‘anonymously’, and that even amateurs just starting to learn the game can play without being laughed at. Poker mania has swept across the world. And it’s not surprising that Nagaland has not escaped the clutches of this addictive game.
Moving out from casinos to tournaments, the game has finally landed on our laps. Online and off, Poker is very addictive and now with the easy and fast accessibility of the internet, many people seem to be recruited to the game more and more. With the easy and fast accessibility of the internet, online poker has gone on to become of the most viable internet games. It has become of the most successful and rapidly growing industries in the internet, today.
With the advent of popular networking sites arriving in India and then slowly introduced in the Northeast, it is not only the addiction to these sites but rather the multitude of games that these sites bring forth with them.
One can play online poker for free in most networking sites, but as the addiction grows, people are known to buy the poker chips from the game provider to play. These sites also offers the players to buy poker chips through credit card.
An interesting news that reached this reporter was that there were many individuals and groups in Nagaland who are selling poker chips for a minimal amount of money, even less than what the original poker site offers. On further investigation it was revealed that some poker players play poker continuously for nights and amass lots of poker chips.
And what they end up doing is sell those chips to people that are addicted enough to pay any amount.
Rongsen Jamir, online poker player from Dimapur says unabashedly that he sells poker chips but it’s been ‘a while’ since he last sold. He reveals that he used to sell 1 million chips for about Rs. 400 to 500. “But I don’t know what the current rate is now” he says, revealing that the business of selling poker chips is indeed a huge market. “Remember one thing, it’s against the rules of poker gaming sites for a third party to sell chips,” he says. When further questioned on why people would be willing to buy poker chips with real money when obviously there is no monetary gain from the game, he says,” Many people want to play in high stake tables, so they take the short cut and buy chips.”
He also says, “A lot of people in Nagaland, are addicted to online poker, both young and old”.
Presently, it is reported that there are no Indian poker websites on the internet today. The government does not give out licenses for companies to operate internet poker rooms in India, so all players must use sites that are hosted elsewhere. Hence online poker players in India apply to different international gambling websites.
At this very moment, there are probably hundreds or maybe even thousands, logged on playing poker.
Note: The addiction to playing online poker games is not of prime focus here. But the reporter aims to highlight that selling and buying of poker chips from a third party is illegal.
Online poker is gaining popularity, even more than one can imagine. It’s a very good probability that you might even know someone who is hooked to online poker. The game appeals to many, even non-gamblers, for the myriad reason; like the fact that one can gamble ‘anonymously’, and that even amateurs just starting to learn the game can play without being laughed at. Poker mania has swept across the world. And it’s not surprising that Nagaland has not escaped the clutches of this addictive game.
Moving out from casinos to tournaments, the game has finally landed on our laps. Online and off, Poker is very addictive and now with the easy and fast accessibility of the internet, many people seem to be recruited to the game more and more. With the easy and fast accessibility of the internet, online poker has gone on to become of the most viable internet games. It has become of the most successful and rapidly growing industries in the internet, today.
With the advent of popular networking sites arriving in India and then slowly introduced in the Northeast, it is not only the addiction to these sites but rather the multitude of games that these sites bring forth with them.
One can play online poker for free in most networking sites, but as the addiction grows, people are known to buy the poker chips from the game provider to play. These sites also offers the players to buy poker chips through credit card.
An interesting news that reached this reporter was that there were many individuals and groups in Nagaland who are selling poker chips for a minimal amount of money, even less than what the original poker site offers. On further investigation it was revealed that some poker players play poker continuously for nights and amass lots of poker chips.
And what they end up doing is sell those chips to people that are addicted enough to pay any amount.
Rongsen Jamir, online poker player from Dimapur says unabashedly that he sells poker chips but it’s been ‘a while’ since he last sold. He reveals that he used to sell 1 million chips for about Rs. 400 to 500. “But I don’t know what the current rate is now” he says, revealing that the business of selling poker chips is indeed a huge market. “Remember one thing, it’s against the rules of poker gaming sites for a third party to sell chips,” he says. When further questioned on why people would be willing to buy poker chips with real money when obviously there is no monetary gain from the game, he says,” Many people want to play in high stake tables, so they take the short cut and buy chips.”
He also says, “A lot of people in Nagaland, are addicted to online poker, both young and old”.
Presently, it is reported that there are no Indian poker websites on the internet today. The government does not give out licenses for companies to operate internet poker rooms in India, so all players must use sites that are hosted elsewhere. Hence online poker players in India apply to different international gambling websites.
At this very moment, there are probably hundreds or maybe even thousands, logged on playing poker.
Note: The addiction to playing online poker games is not of prime focus here. But the reporter aims to highlight that selling and buying of poker chips from a third party is illegal.
