Government Lottery in India

Indian people have a solid relation to the lottery, and most Indians play this exciting game of chance almost daily in one of the many government-run lotteries in this country. Today we’ll discuss the options Indians have regarding physical lotteries (state-run ones that require physical tickets) and the online lotteries that Indian players can enjoy.

NOTE: People who want to play international lotteries and win big jackpots must try one of the sites here:

13 Legal States of Approved Government Lotteries in India 

Of all the 28 states and 8 union territories, only 13 have legalized lottery and have government-run lotteries. Although per Federal Law, gambling is considered illegal, there is a special law that pertains to lotteries – the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 that allows every state to put its own law regarding the lottery.

The states where the lottery is legal in India are:

All of these states have land-based lotteries that are paper-based, meaning to play, you will have to purchase a physical ticket.

13 State-Run Lotteries In India

 

Arunachal Pradesh

The Arunachal Pradesh State Lotteries have seven weekly draws; each day has three daily draws, one at 10.55 AM (Morning), 3 PM (Noon), and 7 PM (Evening), and the price of each ticket is ₹6.

There are six prize tiers. The highest prize is ₹26.03 Lakh, and the lowest is ₹120. To win the main prize, you must match all 8 numbers and letters on the lottery ticket correctly. To get the consolation prize, you must match all five numbers in the second part of the number combination on the ticket in the exact order. To get the lowest prize, you must match any combination of 4 numbers in the exact order specified by the Arunachal Pradesh State Lottery.

Assam

The Assam State Lottery, also known as the Bodoland Lottery, requires you to purchase a paper ticket to play. There are ten Assam Series and three Special series that run daily. The ten Assam series have different draws that run daily, which we’ve covered in the table below:

The tickets have varying prices depending on the draw; the tickets cost ₹2 for the Assam Singam, Kuli, Swarnalaxmi, Vishnu, Kumaran, Rosa, and Nallaneram; the tickets cost ₹6 for the Assam Thangam, and Deer draws, and the tickets cost ₹7 for the Assam Future Series. Each draw has six prize tiers; the top prize is ₹1 Lakh, while the lowest win is ₹50.

Goa

The Goa State Lottery was established in 1995, and now has paper lottery tickets. Goa has five lottery series on a weekly and monthly basis. The tables below better explain the lottery possibilities in Goa:

The prices for the tickets vary, as do the lottery prizes. The Golden Series tickets cost ₹10 with a ₹10K top prize and ₹125 lowest prize. The Rajshree ticket price is ₹6, the main prize is ₹10K, and the lowest is ₹120. The Rajshree 10 ticket price is ₹10, the top prize is ₹10K, and the lowest prize is ₹270. The Labhlaxmi tickets cost ₹10, with a top prize of ₹10K, and the lowest prize is ₹100.

Apart from these, the Goa State Lottery runs monthly, and bumper draws for special holidays and events. For example, the Golden Series has monthly draws

Kerala

The Kerala State Lottery is the oldest government-run lottery in India, and it runs six weekly draws, one on the last Sunday of the month, and other yearly bumper draws.

The bumper lotteries in Kerala take place four times a year:

Madhya Pradesh

The state government of Madhya Pradesh legalized the lottery in August 2021. Since the lottery has become legal in the past year, there has not been a government-organized lottery draw yet, but a state-run paper lottery is expected to be available very soon. We’ll keep you updated on any possible changes.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra has several lottery draws that run every day except for Sunday and the national holidays. The prizes are appealing, and here is a schedule of the weekly draws:

Apart from these, there are four weekly Mini Draws that run four times a week:

Besides the daily draws, the Maharashtra State Lottery also has Special Draws known as Lottery Bonanza. The tickets are more expensive and cost from ₹25 to ₹1,000, and the maximum jackpot is ₹1 Crore.

• Maharashtra Gudi Padwa Bumper – April (4:30 PM)
• Rashi Samruddhi – October (4 PM)
• Maharashtra Super 100 – October (3:30 PM)
• Maharashtra Super 500 – October (3:30 PM)
• Maharashtra Super 1000 – October (3:30 PM)
• Maharashtra Dasara Bumper – October (3:30 PM)
• Maharashtra Diwali Bumper – November (3 PM)

Manipur

The Manipur government has a Directorate of Lotteries that organizes four daily draws, seven days a week.

Meghalaya

Meghalaya has a state-run lottery draw, the Future Daily Lottery, which takes time three times a day, seven days a week. There are no additional draws or bumper draws, and the price per ticket is the same for every daily draw:

Mizoram

The Government of Mizoram has a lottery department, the Institutional Finance and State Lottery, that runs 14 weekly, monthly, and yearly draws.

Tuesdays and Fridays are reserved for the monthly draws, each having a differently-priced ticket and prizes. The yearly draw is the Rajshree Basant Panchami in January or February. The draw is at 2 PM, the ticket is ₹250, and the jackpot is ₹10 Lakh.

Nagaland

The Directorate of Nagaland State Lotteries organizes Nagaland’s lottery draw, which runs three daily draws. Their names are different, but the ticket price and the jackpots are the same:

At this time, Nagaland’s lottery has one Bumper lottery draw, the Dear Durga Puja Bumper, held in October, where the jackpot is ₹5 Crore, and the ticket price is ₹2,000.

Punjab

The Punjab Lottery is very popular and has plenty of weekly, monthly, and yearly draws. The table below summarizes the Punjab lottery draws, with ticket prices and jackpots:

Punjab also has bumper lottery draws on special occasions:

• Dear New Year Lohri Bumper –New Year/Lohri (January) with a jackpot of ₹2.5 Crore
• Dear Rakhi Bumper –Raksha Bandhan (August)  with a jackpot of ₹1.5 Crore
• Dear Diwali Bumper –Diwali (October/November) with a jackpot of ₹1.5 Crore

Sikkim

The Sikkim State Lottery has a paper-based lottery draw, the Dear Labhlaxmi draw, every day at 6 PM. The names of each draw are after a precious stone or metal, but the prices for each draw are the same, as is the jackpot.

West Bengal

The Indian state of West Bengal has legalized lotteries, and there were regular draws until 2019. Without state-run lottery draws, the lottery draws from Samabad and Nagaland are very popular here.

Lottery Sambad

Lottery Sambad is a lottery game that is available across multiple states in India. The lottery has a daily jackpot of ₹1 Crore, and has three daily draws at 1 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM. The draws are held at the Nagaland State Lotteries; and it is legal in Maharashtra, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, and West Bengal. Because of the fixed jackpot, the Sambad Lottery is also referred to as the Dear 1 Crore Lottery.

Is Online Lottery Legal in India?

The federal law in India states that every state has the option to legalize or ban lottery draws. Since the lottery is considered a game of chance and is regulated by the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998, it comes down to the state government’s decision. Still, this pertains to land-based lotteries with physical tickets.

When it comes to online lotteries, the situation is not as straightforward. Namely, online lotteries are available in India, but the legal aspect differs per state. There are national lotteries like Lotto India, a privately-owned, online-only game available to Indians and people from everywhere.

Also, when it comes to online lotteries in India, international lotteries are available to Indian players. For example, Indian players can use one of the many online lotto apps and access some of the most notable international lotteries.

There are some stipulations, though. For example, to be safe, the online lottery should not be registered in India; it should accept deposits in Indian Rupees and have some of the Indian-preferred payment methods.

International Online Lotteries Available in India

As we noted, international lotteries are available to Indian players, which are available online via appropriate lottery apps or even on official websites. For example, Indian players can use the lottery apps like theLotter or LottoAgent, to name a few, and get instant access to a wide variety of international lotteries.

When we talk about international lotteries, we need to outline that using the lotto apps, Indian players can access US Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto India, Euro Millions, Australia Saturday Lotto, and many others.

Government-Approved Online Lottery in India in 2022

Legally speaking, there is no online lottery in India that the government approves. As of August 2022, all government lotteries in India are paper-based, and you must purchase physical tickets from local vendors.

However, the government does not explicitly allow or ban the various international online lotteries that accept players from India. Another option for the online lottery are the numerous online casino websites that accept players from India and have lottery draws on their offer.

Government Lottery Games

Regarding government lottery games, the 13 Indian states that have legalized lotteries provide plenty of choices for their residents. Some states have more weekly draws, while others have one or even none. Still, we’ve consolidated all the Indian government lotteries in one table for you:

How to Buy Government Tickets

When looking to buy government lottery tickets in India, the task is more complex than other popular globally-available lotteries, as all the government-run lotteries are paper-based because no governmental lottery has received federal approval to offer its services online. It means you can’t actually purchase a ticket online and participate in one of the government lotteries in India.

So to participate in an Indian government lottery, you can only buy paper tickets sold at street vendors across the Indian states where the lottery is legal. To buy a lottery ticket to a government lottery in India, you should follow these steps:

• Check if your state allows lottery and what are the available lottery draws
• Select a draw you wish to participate in
• Visit the authorized lottery seller or street vendor to purchase your paper ticket
• Sign your ticket with your name and address, and wait for the draw

To check if you are the winner, you can check the state lottery’s official website and see the results. If you don’t have immediate access to the website, you can check the local daily news channels for the lottery results.

Suppose you live in an Indian state where the lottery is not allowed, but you still want to play. In that case, you have a choice to join one of the many online lottery sites that let you participate in one of the many globally-famous international lotteries. To do this, you will need to:

• Select and sign up for an online lottery website
• Select your preferred lottery draw
• Pick your numbers and purchase your ticket
• Wait for the draw!

What Indian States Have Banned Lotteries?

As we noted above, the Indian Federal Law regarding lotteries allows each state to impose regulations on allowing or forbidding lotteries. Of the 36 Indian states and territories, only 13 have legalized the lottery, and the remaining 23 have banned lotteries. Thus, people from the following Indian states and territories don’t have legal government-run lotteries:

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Bihar
4. Chandigarh
5. Chhattisgarh
6. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
7. Delhi
8. Gujarat
9. Haryana
10. Himachal Pradesh
11. Jammu and Kashmir
12. Jharkhand
13. Karnataka
14. Ladakh
15. Lakshadweep
16. Odisha
17. Puducherry
18. Rajasthan
19. Tamil Nadu
20. Telangana
21. Tripura
22. Uttar Pradesh
23. Uttarakhand

State Lottery Alternatives to Play Online

All the government-supported lotteries in India are land-based, and there are no official online lotteries in India that one can play. However, there is an option for playing some of the land-based lotteries via online means – the online lottery agents like LottoSmile and theLotter.

Namely, there are lottery websites that let you fill out and purchase tickets from select lotteries, and their employees purchase the physical tickets for you for a small fee. It is the only way to play a land-based government lottery in India online.

Online Lottery Apps in India

We mentioned online lottery apps above; let’s discuss these here. The various lottery apps are online services that allow you to access some of the world’s most famous lotteries with some of the biggest prizes.

There are different lottery apps, but in this context, we’ll talk about the lottery apps that let you buy tickets online. These apps, like theLotter, for example, are optimized for mobile use, and you can use them anytime, anywhere. You must register at the app, pick a lottery from the available ones, and enter the number of tickets.

The employees will purchase the physical ticket, and you will receive a scanned copy of your ticket you’ll save to your account. You can check the numbers, but the app will automatically notify you of any possible winnings.

Many of these lottery apps fulfill all the legal requirements and are allowed in India, accept deposits in Indian Rupees, and have many favorite deposit methods. Thus Indian lottery enthusiasts can take advantage of these and play any lottery they want.

Final Thoughts

The lottery is very popular in India, and many people regularly participate in this game. 13 Indian states have legalized it and have state-run lotteries with a different number of schemes and appealing prizes; the other 23 Indian states have bans on lottery. Most Indian government-run lotteries have affordable tickets and regular draws to make it appealing for many to play.

Still, the lack of online playing options needs improvement, mainly because cross-state ticket sales are not allowed. That is where the online lottery apps like theLotter or LottoSmile, come in; they offer Indian players the chance to play dozens of online lotteries worldwide and get plenty of winning chances.