The legal state of lotteries in India has confused many over the years. To further clarify which Indian state lottery you can play, we’ve compiled an extensive guide below. We also mention a few tips and tricks to keep in mind – read on to find out more!
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What Is a State Lottery?
Lotteries organised by the government are termed as state lotteries. The Indian state lottery system is managed by the few areas that have set regulations, according to the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998. These laws permit citizens to participate in lottery games controlled by the state, hence preventing illegal operations from taking place privately.
There is a range of prizes to be won in an Indian state lottery – with luck on your side, you could win a couple of hundred bucks to over a crore! Ticket costs vary from state to state, with some having a starting price as low as ₹2.
Check out our list of the biggest lottery winners in India – you never know, you could very well end up being one of them in the future!
Indian Legal Status
Every Indian state lottery, as previously mentioned, follows the Lotteries Regulation Act of 1998. This law prohibits any private individual or company from conducting lottery games unless associated with the state.
Under these regulations, the state conducting a lottery must only distribute paper tickets, and no more than one lottery draw can take place weekly. To get around this, most states conduct multiple weekly lottery schemes to avoid repeating a single scheme within a week.
Although none of the lotteries are controlled by the central government, the latter have the power to stop any Indian state lottery if they find any illegal practices taking place.
If an individual were to promote and conduct their own lottery game, they could be imprisoned for up to two years, charged with a heavy fine, or both in certain circumstances. Under this act, even state government officials could face the same penalty for any broken laws.
As of now, 15 out of the 28 states don’t conduct any official lottery. That said, India, in general, doesn’t have any set laws against participating in international online lotteries and casino games. So, the people unable to play in their state can opt for online lottery offshore games without any issues.
List of States That Accept Indian State Lotteries:
Currently, only 13 out of the 28 states in India conduct state lottery games. These states are as follows:
- Kerala
- Goa
- Maharashtra
- Madhya Pradesh
- Punjab
- Assam
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Meghalaya
- Manipur
- West Bengal
- Sikkim
- Nagaland
- Mizoram
Each of these states have different lottery schemes, ticket prices, and rewards, as we’ll see below.
Kerala State Lottery
The Kerala Lottery was the first lottery to start in India, and was the precursor of the Lotteries Regulation Act 1998. Currently, the state conducts seven weekly lotteries with six bumper lotteries in a year. The minimum cost of a ticket is ₹20, but the prizes go up to crores.
Goa State Lottery
Goa is among the few states in India that allow lotteries and also permit casino establishments. It currently has 19 active lotteries, with some taking place weekly and others monthly. Other than this, there are a few bumper lotteries for certain seasons. The minimum cost of a ticket is ₹6.
Maharashtra State Lottery
One of the older Indian state lottery systems in place, Maharashtra started its state lottery to prevent illegal schemes like Matka from cheating citizens. At the time of writing, the state hosts six weekly lotteries along with four mini-lotteries, with prizes worth lakhs of rupees. The starting price for a lottery ticket is ₹10.
Madhya Pradesh State Lottery
Madhya Pradesh, until recently, had banned their state’s lottery until legalising it again in August 2021. Since this re-legalisation, though. the state doesn’t openly promote its lottery online, with no official website either. Therefore, all dealings occur offline, including the posting of results.
Punjab State Lottery
Punjab, at present, hosts a monthly Indian state lottery along with a few bumper lotteries for special festivals in the month. These lotteries are organised by the company DEAR Government Lottery.
Assam State Lottery
Assam’s state lottery, also called the Bodoland Lottery, announces its results on its website at 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 7:00 PM. The cost of a ticket is just ₹2, but it makes you eligible to win up to a lakh.
Arunachal Pradesh State Lottery
This Indian state lottery, like a lot of the other East Indian states, has a time-based weekly lottery that is announced every day at 10:55 AM, 3:00 PM, and 7:00 PM. The cost of a ticket is ₹6, but the winning ticket’s reward is ₹26,03,000.
Meghalaya State Lottery
In Meghalaya, the Indian state lottery ticket costs you ₹6, but it could fetch you up to ₹29,00,000. There are three weekly lottery draws announced daily at 11:55 AM, 4:30 PM, and 6:30 PM.
Manipur State Lottery
Manipur has four weekly state lotteries that you can participate in daily for the following week’s results. They are announced at 11:55 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:00 PM, and 9:00 PM. The cost of a ticket is ₹6, offering prizes up to ₹27,00,000.
West Bengal State Lottery
Citizens of West Bengal can currently take part in three weekly lotteries hosted by Nagaland State Lotteries, in association with DEAR Government Lotteries. The results are announced every day for the past week’s tickets at 1:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:00 PM.
Sikkim State Lottery
Like West Bengal, Sikkim players can also participate in the three DEAR weekly lotteries at 1:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:00 PM. Additionally, Sikkim citizens can join the two Labhlaxmi weekly lotteries, the two DEAR fortnightly lotteries, and the DEAR 100 Indian state lottery.
Nagaland State Lottery
Nagaland state lotteries currently host the three DEAR weekly lotteries. The starting cost of these tickets is just ₹6, but it could fetch you a prize of ₹1 crore. Since 28th March 2022, Nagaland also hosts two weekly Labhlaxmi, two fortnightly DEAR, and the weekly DEAR 100 Indian state lottery, which Sikkim previously hosted.
Mizoram State Lottery
Mizoram, similar to Manipur, also has four weekly lotteries announced at 9:55 AM, 11:55 AM, 4:00 PM, and 8:00 PM. The cost of a ticket, like most other East Indian states, is ₹6, with a prize of ₹25 Lakhs in the first place.
DEAR State Lottery
DEAR Government Lottery has helped boost the popularity of state lotteries, and is the first company to live telecast state lottery draws on TV in India. Most states that allow lotteries are associated with DEAR to provide citizens with low-cost and high-reward options.
The current most popular weekly DEAR lotteries are hosted through Nagaland State Lotteries. The results are drawn daily at 1:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:00 PM, and the cost of a ticket is just ₹6, with the reward for the first prize being ₹1 crore.
How To Take Part in an Indian State Lottery
Every Indian state lottery follows a paper system wherein you can only buy physical tickets to participate. These can be purchased from markets, bus stands, railway stations, and post offices throughout India. There are ways to get state lottery tickets online, but do it at your own risk, as scams tend to run rampant.
If you reside in the 15 states that don’t have legally held state lotteries, you can visit legal offshore lottery sites instead!
How To Win in an Indian State Lottery
Lotteries are entirely based on luck, so there isn’t any hard and fast method that can assure your victory. The simplest way to increase your chances is by buying multiple tickets.
Opting for lotteries that sell fewer tickets (such as 10,000) could also work, as your number will have 1 in 10,000 cases to be picked instead of 1 in 1,00,000.
If you happen to win an Indian state lottery, go to the official state lottery website (usually mentioned on the ticket), fill in the prize claim form, and mail it to them at the address provided.
Also, some popular Lotto sites in India offer free tickets as part of their sign up registration to join, you can use this incentive to help give you an extra chance at winning.
Which Indian State Abolished the Lottery By Law?
As of 2022, only the state of Tamil Nadu has completely banned lotteries, believing that they would encourage more scams to pop up and possibly cheat unaware citizens. This means that the citizens living here are also not allowed to participate in other state lotteries.
Also, the Delhi Government Lottery was banned in 1995 after several fake lottery busts.
Indian State Lotteries Final Say
The first Indian state lottery started back in 1967, and ever since then, many Indians in their respective states have bought tickets in order to try their luck. The DEAR lottery has also, in recent times, helped keep the spirit of lottery betting alive in the country.
While less than half of the states and union territories in India hold state lotteries, most citizens throughout the country are allowed to participate. Lotteries play a significant role in boosting the state’s economy, and hence the likelihood of a lottery ban throughout India is relatively low.
Indian State Lottery FAQs
1. Which state lottery is the best in India?
Kerala’s lottery can be considered the best among the rest as it hosts a lottery with a prize pool of ₹7 crore.
2. Where can I buy Indian state lottery tickets online?
Currently, no state in India sells state lottery tickets online. However, sites like BETWINNER and Lotto247 offer different types of lottery games.
3. Which states have a state lottery in India?
As of today, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram have state lotteries.
4. Which state has banned the lottery by law?
Tamil Nadu has, at present, banned its residents from participating in a lottery.
5. Is it legal and safe to take part in a lottery online in India?
Taking part in online lotteries is completely legal from anywhere in India, but there are a lot of scam websites. We recommend that you choose from our list of lottery websites provided above to be on the safe side.