Crackdown on illegal sale of lottery tickets in Kerala

The Lotteries Department on Tuesday issued a warning to agents against illegal sale of tickets outside the state and also sale of tickets of the same numerical endings in sets.

In an advertisement, the department said that the licence of such agencies will be cancelled without prior notice and  legal steps will be taken.

This follows the Express reports on both the illegal practices. In the first report titled ‘Kerala Lotteries cross the borders’ published on July 28, it was revealed that lakhs of state lottery tickets smuggled from Palakkad were selling like hot cakes in Tamil Nadu. The report had also said  that Palakkad district topped in the sale of lottery tickets in the state followed by Thrissur district, both of which have access to Tamil Nadu.

The second report on August 5 revealed that several agents were resorting to the practice of selling ‘fortune sets’ of 15, 20 or 25 tickets which have the same numerical ending. They were a huge hit among lottery buyers who wish for a multiplied result for prizes of Rs 2,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 which are given on the basis of the last four digits.

The department has said that such gambling acts will not be allowed under any circumstances.