Game Over

A new wave of online garnes is devouring time, money, and dreams across Kashmir. What looks like entertainment is actually a trap, and no one’s sounding the alarm.

- Irshad Mushtaq

‘ou can’t miss the signs anymore. A young man stands outside a coaching center, eyes locked on his phone, skipping class.

A college student leans in to tell a friend about “making back losses.” A teenager hides in the stairwell, completely hooked on a blinking screen.

The game never stops. And real life is left on pause.

Online gaming, once an occasional distraction, has become an obsession across Kashmir.

Aviator, Teen Patti, spin wheels, fantasy leagues offer adrenaline, escape, and the illusion of easy money.

What they deliver is addiction, financial ruin, fractured relationships, and an alarming erosion of time, focus, and drive.

Kashmir is already a region with deep economic and psychological scars. The unemployment rate among youth is the highest in the country. Social mobility is slow. Anxiety and restlessness run deep.

Online games tap into this vulnerability, wrapping false hope in flashy graphics and instant payouts. The damage is rapid, and often irreversible.