Explainer: Who can buy and pocket prize money from Kerala Lottery?

As per the existing Lottery Regulation Act, Kerala lottery tickets cannot be sold outside Kerala. However, people from other states can come to Kerala and purchase the tickets. If they win the prize money, they can produce the necessary documents and collect the prize money.

Thiruvananthapuram: With record-breaking prize money in the Onam Bumper, Kerala Lottery tickets are evoking interest among people across the country, people from many other states are wondering how to purchase the tickets and whether they could also become one of the lucky winners.

An auto-rickshaw driver, who was planning to go to Malaysia to work as a chef, on Sunday won the Rs 25 crore Onam bumper lottery in Kerala, just a day after his application for a loan of Rs 3 lakh was approved. Even more interesting is that Anoop, hailing from Sreevaraham near Thiruvananthapuram, bought the winning ticket -- TJ 750605 -- on Saturday (17.09.22).

Here is a look at the rules and regulations behind the Kerala lotteries, which are being run by the Kerala Government. As per the existing Lottery Regulation Act, Kerala lottery tickets cannot be sold outside Kerala. However, people from other states can come to Kerala and purchase the tickets.

If they win the prize money they can produce the necessary documents and collect the prize money. As per the lottery rules, the physical ticket is the most important material to claim the prize. The winner has to produce the original ticket at the Lottery office to claim the prize.

Purchase of tickets through online platforms is illegal. There are several WhatsApp groups launched by lottery agents to sell tickets. This is working purely based on the trust factor and has no legal protection. The government will not give any legal protection to persons who are either cheated or have any disputes if they had purchased the tickets through these groups.

Prize distribution will only happen when the original ticket is produced before the department by the winner. The documents needed to claim the prize include the original lottery ticket which won the prize, stamped receipt in Form No. VIII, recent passport size photograph duly attested by Gazetted officer / Notary. (2 copies), duly attested photocopy of both sides of the prized ticket, attested copy of Passport / Ration card /Election Identity card/Driving license/ PAN card, to prove identity.

In addition to the documents, the following documents shall also be enclosed while surrendering the tickets through the Bank, authorization of the Prize winner, certificate of receiving bank, and certificate of collecting Bank. Kerala Government offers lottery tickets which are drawn every day of the week.

In addition, there are also six bumper lotteries, with higher prize amounts. Akshaya on Monday, Karunya on Tuesday, Karunya Plus on Wednesday, Nirmal on Thursday, Sthreeshakthi on Friday, WinWin on Saturday, and Fifty Fifty on Sunday are the daily tickets. In daily lotteries, FiftyFifty has the highest first prize amount of Rs 1 crore.

Other lotteries also have first prize money of around Rs 1 crore. The bumper tickets are Monsoon Bumper, Pooja Bumper, Summer Bumper, Tiruvonam Bumper, Vishu Bumper, and Christmas New Year Bumper. Most of these tickets are brought out with specific social aims and the revenue from these lottery ticket sales is used for such social projects.

For example, the revenue from Karunya lottery tickets is used for providing free medical aid to poor people and similarly, the SthreeShakthi lottery ticket revenue is used for women empowerment projects. The Lottery Department of the Kerala Government is the authority in the printing and sales of lottery tickets in the state.

Lottery agents, both wholesale and retail are authorized to sell the tickets on a commission basis. Lottery Director is in charge of printing. The printing is done at the government press and the tickets will have details like the serial number, ticket price, prize money details, and date of draw.

For enhancing security and to prevent the possibility of faking, a barcode is also printed on each ticket. The details about all printed tickets and the serial numbers sold to each agent would be kept by the Lottery department. Agents should hand over the details regarding unsold tickets to the lottery department ahead of the draw date and such tickets will be removed from the lucky draw.

The lottery ticket draw is done at Thiruvananthapuram. Prize money up to Rs.5,000 can be collected directly from the lottery agents by producing the prize-winning ticket. Prize amount up to Rs 1 lakh can be collected from the district lottery office. Higher prize amount winning tickets can be produced at branches of any nationalized banks with original tickets and money can be collected after producing the necessary documents.

The winner will get the prize money after the deduction of income tax and agent commission. The prize-winning ticket should be produced to the concerned authorities within 90 days from the date of draw. After 90 days, the ticket will be considered invalid.