Highest Lottery Prizes in India
For ages, the lottery has held a strong appeal for Indians, and it is one of the few legit games of luck. Over the years, there have been many lottery winners in India. Here we’ll outline some of the winners of the largest government lotteries in India, but also the luckiest Indians who’ve won international lottery prizes from some of the most massive lotteries in the world like the US Powerball or the ever-popular Mega Millions.
Read their stories, and maybe you’ll be inspired to play your lucky number today and get a shot at becoming the next lottery millionaire in India.
Get the chance to play the world’s most massive lotteries from India! Play for the chance to be one of the winners of prizes that amount to Lakh and Crore – hundreds of them! All these and more are available on the top lottery sites for Indians!
Government Lottery Winners
The lottery is legal in India, with almost all Indian states having a state-operated lottery draw. We’ve collected some of the most notable winners who won the lottery, which changed their lives.
- Azad Singh – Azad Singh comes from Fatehabad, Punjab; he bought a lottery ticket for the first time in February 2017 and won a cash prize of ₹1.5 crore from the Punjab State Lottery. Talk about beginner’s luck!
- Manoj Kumar – Manoj Kumar comes from Mandvi, Sangrur, Punjab. He borrowed ₹200 to purchase a lottery ticket in 2018, and luck was on his side – he won the Punjab State Lottery Rakhi Bumper worth ₹1.5 crore.
- Ashok Kumar – Ashok Kumar is a police officer from Punjab, and in 2020, he bought a lottery ticket from a vendor in front of the police station where he works. He won the Punjab State Lottery Lohri Bumper worth ₹2 crore.
- Sharafudeen – A man from Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, went to work in Kerala and bought a ticket for the Kerala State Lottery draw. He won the New Year Lottery draw, winning ₹12 crore in January 2021.
- Pratibha Mandal – Pratibha is from West Bengal, but he moved to Kerala to work. He bought a lottery ticket, and luck was on his side; he won the first prize in the Kerala State Lottery worth ₹80 lakh.
- Mofijul Rahima Sheikh – Mofijul comes from Bardham, West Bengal, and moved to Kerala in 2018 to find a job and earn money for his family. He bought a lottery ticket from a disabled vendor for the Karunia Government Lottery, and two days later, he won the main prize of ₹80 crore.
International Lottery Winners
Now let’s see some lucky Indian lottery players who’ve won international and online lotteries and have become millionaires overnight.
- Hira Singh – Hira Singh is an Indian living in Kansas and regularly plays Mega Millions. He bought a ticket at QuickTrip while stopping for gas, and it turns out he won $50 million, or ₹400 crore.
- Sandeep Sunny Singh – Sandeep has a deep love for lottery and gambling and was a devoted player of both lottery and scratchcards. He won $4 on a scratch-off ticket and bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket with his winnings. Luck was on his side and won the $61 million prize, receiving a lump sum of $23 million or ₹172.2 crore.
- Sopna Nair – Sopna is from Kerala, India, living and working in Abu Dhabi. She bought a ticket for the Big Ticket raffle and won the main prize of 12 million dirhams or $3.2 million, or ₹24.7 crore.
- Tojo Mathew – Tojo Mathew is from Kerala, India, working in Abu Dhabi. He and his wife decided to move back to India and bought a ticket for the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket raffle on their way back. A surprise awaited them when they landed – a prize of $1.9 million or ₹14 crore.
- Ushakiran Patel – Mrs. Patel is an Indian woman living in New York, and she chose the Quick Pick option and bought a ticket for the US Powerball lottery. Her ticket won, and she won the second prize of $1 million or ₹7.5 crore.
- C.J. – C.J. is a man from India who loves the lottery and has played international lotteries through TheLotter app for years. He was lucky in 2018 when he won €32,161 or ₹26.5 lakh playing the Austrian Lotto.
- Pragnesh Peter Saija – Pragnesh is an Indian living in Canada, and he bought his lottery ticket for the Daily Grand draw. He was lucky and won the $7 million prize or ₹52.5 crore. He chose a payout of $1,000/day for life.
- Harikrishnan V Nair – Harikrishnan worked in a firm in Dubai and participated in the Big Ticket Lottery at Abu Dhabi International Airport. He won the biggest-ever raffle prize money, winning $3.2 million or ₹20.8 crore.
- Sunil Kumar Kathuria – Sunil is an Indian who worked in Bahrain. He bought a ticket at the Dubai Duty-Free Millennium Millionaire Draw in 2020. He was the lucky 170th Indian who won the main $1 million prize or ₹7.5 crore.
FAQ
Which Lottery Has Highest Prize Money?
At this time, the lottery with the highest prize money is the US Powerball and the Mega Millions lottery. From time to time, the jackpots go up to $1 billion and over.
Has any Indian won lotto?
Many Indians have won the lotto and have become millionaires in an instant. We’ve shared some names of Indian lottery players who’ve won government-run Indian lotteries and people who’ve won international and online lotteries.
What should I do first if I win the lottery?
If you are among the lucky few who’ve won the lottery, you should be careful with your winnings, as this is not an unlimited well of money. Before everything else, you should sign the ticket to protect yourself and have a claim of your ticket. Then, hire a lawyer to advise you and lead you through the entire process. If possible, remain anonymous to protect yourself from scammers and people looking for handouts.
Who won the lottery the most times?
The Romanian economist Stefan Mandel has won the lottery a whopping 14 times. He developed a prediction system and used it to print out all the possible winning tickets, ultimately winning the main prize. He waited until the prize was at least 3x bigger than the investment he was required to make to “buy” all the possible combinations. After winning smaller prizes, he (and his cohorts) won a staggering $27 million jackpot in Virginia.
How can I win the jackpot in India?
We can’t give you a precise answer to this question; if we knew it, we would win the jackpot ourselves. Stll, there are lottery strategies you can apply to improve your winning chances like learning the odds, using statistical analysis, mixing your numbers, and ultimately, it comes down to luck.
Is there a formula to winning the lottery?
Unfortunately, there is no formula for winning the lottery unless you consider Mandel’s strategy of playing all the possible combinations. Some mathematical predictions can give you an insight into the numbers that could be drawn, but it is never 100% correct, as the prediction is based on very complex statistical analysis. We have a lottery predictor that you can use for free and get six random numbers that could (or could not) be the next ones drawn!