The Kerala state lottery is a popular gambling activity in the Indian state of Kerala. Lotteries are currently banned in most parts of India, but they are legal in a few states including Kerala and Punjab. In Kerala, the lottery is incredibly popular and an important source of revenue for the state government. But when and how did the Kerala lottery originate? Here is a brief history on who started the lottery system in Kerala and how it evolved over the years.
The Origin of Lotteries in India
Historically, lotteries have been prevalent in India since hundreds of years. Ancient texts describe various forms of gambling including lotteries and betting on animal fights. The origin of the modern Indian lottery can be traced back to the British Raj. Lotteries were first introduced in India in the late 18th century by the British to augment state revenues. The first modern Indian lottery was established by the British government in Kerala in 1881. It was called the Kerala State Lotteries and was administered by the provincial government at the time.
After India’s independence from British rule in 1947, state-run lotteries continued in Kerala and many other states. While most states abolished their lotteries in the following decades, Kerala clung onto this revenue stream by popular demand. The Kerala government made the lottery drawings a major state-sponsored program and created massive public interest in lottery games like Karunya, Akshaya and Sthree Sakthi.
Kerala Government Takes Over Administration
For the first few decades since independence, the Kerala lottery was administered by private companies on contract from the state government. The state provided licenses and tax benefits to these private operators. However, accusations of corruption and malpractice became rampant over the years. There were widespread complaints that private operators were rigging the draws and manipulating the outcomes. The general public lost faith in the integrity of the lotteries being operated by private companies.
To address this issue, the Government of Kerala decided to directly take over the administration of the state lottery in 1967. The Kerala State Lotteries department was formally established in September 1967 under the finance ministry. The state cabinet appointed a Director of State Lotteries to oversee operations and ensure transparency. This helped restore public confidence in the lottery system. The Kerala government also expanded the lottery operations greatly after taking over administration. More weekly lottery draws were introduced and aggressive marketing campaigns promoted the lotteries across the state.
Rise of Paper Lotteries
In the initial years under government administration, the Kerala lottery was based on simple raffle draws made through a lucky dip method. People had to physically purchase paper lottery tickets which contained ticket numbers that were entered into the lucky draw. This purchase of physical paper tickets was the only way to play the Kerala state lottery at the time. The Kerala government emphasised making ticket purchases easy and accessible statewide. Lottery ticket booking counters were opened across the state at major banks, shops and retail outlets.
As the lottery became more popular, whole streets in the cities of Trivandrum and Ernakulam became dedicated solely for the sale of lottery tickets. The most famous is the Pattom lottery ticket street in Trivandrum which still exists today and is lined with over 150 lottery booking stations. With increased reach across the state, lottery ticket sales boomed and paper lotteries became a hugely popular phenomenon in Kerala in the 1970s and 80s.
Shift to Computerised Draws
By the late 1980s, the logistics of paper lotteries was getting very cumbersome. The need to print lakhs of paper tickets, distribute them statewide and collect the ticket stubs for the manual raffle draws was hugely inefficient. In 1989, the Kerala government decided to switch to computerisation and automated lottery draws. This improved efficiency, transparency and trustworthiness of the draw results.
The Kerala State Lotteries department developed a custom electronic hardware device along with the Sree Gokulam Gopinathan Nair Memorial (SGGNM) college in Trivandrum. This device automated the randomisation and draw procedures which were previously done manually. The results were displayed immediately on electronic screens. Later on, results were also published on the Kerala State Lottery’s official website. Automation brought huge cost savings, wider reach and improved consumer confidence in the lottery system.
Introduction of Online Lotteries
The next major evolution for the Kerala state lottery came with the proliferation of internet access and online payment infrastructure in the 2000s. Leveraging this technology, the Kerala government introduced online ticket sales alongside the traditional paper tickets. This opened up a whole newchannel of lottery ticket sales via the official website and mobile apps. Kerala lotteries like Karunya Plus and Akshaya now sell both paper and online tickets for the same draws.
Some of the benefits of online ticket sales were:
- Enabled lottery purchase from anywhere in the state without having to visit agents.
- Allowed NRIs and people living outside Kerala to participate.
- Provided a more convenient payment method via netbanking and cards.
- Reduced the logistical challenges of physical ticket distribution.
While paper tickets still have the dominant share, online lottery sales have grown steadily since its introduction. Today, the Kerala state lotteries sells over ₹7000 crore worth of both paper and online tickets annually.
Rise of Private Online Lotteries
Seeing the success of Kerala government’s online lottery initiative, several private companies also jumped into the online lottery business. They aggressively marketed online lottery games to Kerala’s consumers through advertisements. Some private online lotteries that became popular are Playwin Lottery, Dhanasree Online Lottery and Rajshree Online Lottery.
However, over time allegations emerged of manipulation and lack of transparency by some of these private operators. There were also legal gray areas regarding the state’s authority to regulate online lotteries run by private entities. After various cases of fraud, the Kerala State Lottery Department issued a notification prohibiting the sale of online lotteries run by private companies. Today, the Kerala state lottery remains the only legally permitted and regulated online lottery draw in the state of Kerala.
Shift to Weekly Lotteries
Historically, Kerala lotteries were conducted only as bumper annual draws on special state occasions like Onam and Vishu. But as the lottery operations expanded in the 1980s and 90s, the state introduced more frequent lottery draws to generate higher revenues. The Kerala government began conducting lotteries first on a quarterly basis, then monthly basis and finally on a weekly basis by the late 1990s. Soon, the weekly lottery draws became the primary fixture while bumper draws were limited to special annual occasions.
Today, the Kerala State Lotteries Department conducts seven weekly lottery draws on different days of the week. They are Pratheeksha, Dhanasree, Win-Win, Akshaya, Bhagyanidhi, Karunya and Pournami lotteries. Each week, one draw is conducted for each lottery with its own unique ticket structure and prize schemes. Weekly lotteries have now become synonymous with the Kerala lottery experience. Millions eagerly await each weekly draw for a shot at winning the mega prizes.
Lottery Revenue for State Development
The Kerala state lottery has historically made significant contributions to the state’s revenues. The revenue generated is used to fund various public welfare schemes. In the initial years after 1967, the revenue was minimal as the lottery system was still taking shape. Revenue went up sharply after aggressive marketing campaigns were launched.
Here is a table showing the Kerala state lottery revenue growth over the decades:
| Decade | Lottery Revenue (in crores) |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 100 |
| 1990s | 500 |
| 2000s | 2000 |
| 2010s | 7000 |
In 2019-20, Kerala state lotteries generated a massive ₹7,891 crore in revenue for the government. An average of 80-90 lakh lottery tickets are sold every day in Kerala. According to statistics, 1 in every 3 households in Kerala purchases a lottery ticket every week!
Welfare Initiatives Funded
The revenue from Kerala state lotteries goes directly into the state treasury. It is a major source of non-tax revenue for the government. This income has supported several public welfare projects over the years like:
- Housing schemes for the poor
- Drinking water projects
- Healthcare programs
- Education and literacy missions
- Pension for elderly citizens
- Subsidies for school students
Without the funds generated by lottery revenue over the decades, many major public welfare initiatives of Kerala state would simply not have been possible. This is a big reason why successive Kerala governments have supported and promoted the lottery system despite criticisms from some quarters. The lottery revenue contributions to the state’s development are undeniable.
Contribution to Kerala Economy
Beyond the income generated for the state government, the lottery system also significantly contributes to Kerala’s economy through associated businesses. Today, the Kerala state lottery ecosystem provides employment to lakhs of people directly or indirectly. Some key beneficiaries in the lottery value chain are:
- Lottery agents and retailers
- Lottery ticket manufacturers
- Paper and printing vendors
- Advertising agencies
- Media companies
- Software systems developers
- Prize distributors
The thriving lottery economy has created many millionaires and lower income earners who depend on lotteries for their livelihood. The lottery system generates economic activity worth thousands of crores for the state every year. For Kerala’s economy, state lotteries are now too big to fail!
Social Impact of Lotteries
The Kerala state lottery has had wide-ranging socio-economic impacts, both good and bad. On the positive side, lottery wins have transformed many poor people’s lives overnight. Major prize winners become wealthy literally in a flash. There are inspiring stories of lottery jackpot prizes empowering people to come out of poverty within days.
However, critics point out the flip side of rampant lottery gambling addiction. Numerous poor families have fallen into debt and ruin through lottery addictions. Critics argue that the easy availability of lottery tickets tempts the poor to try their luck repeatedly, often beyond their means. This causes huge harm as the odds of winning are extremely low. Addiction-related issues like domestic fights, petty crime, depression and suicide are cited as fallouts.
Opinions are sharply divided on whether easy access to lottery does more economic harm than good, especially for the poor sections. But there is no denying the transformative potential of life-changing lottery jackpots, however rare they may be. For lottery supporters, the examples of poor people hitting the jackpot outweigh the criticisms of petty gambling addiction.
Latest Developments
Some recent developments in the Kerala state lottery system are:
- Launch of weekly lottery draws specifically aimed at women – Sthree Sakthi and Akshaya lotteries.
- Introduction of lottery draws on New Year eves to capitalise on high sales potential.
- Higher proportion of tickets being sold online through official mobile apps and website.
- Quick Pick / e-Ticketing introduced allowing consumers to buy tickets online without selecting numbers.
- QR code based lottery ticket system launched as an anti-fraud measure.
The Kerala State Lottery Department is focusing on harnessing technology better to improve transparency, accessibility and prevent fraudulent activities. Efforts are also on to make lottery operations more environmentally sustainable using green technologies for printing etc.
The Future
The Kerala state lottery has come a long way from the first hand-drawn chit raffle in 1967 to today’s digitised operations involving crores of tickets. After surviving many ups and downs, lotteries remain hugely popular in Kerala today. They have become an intrinsic part of the state’s socio-economic fabric.
Lotteries face challenges from critics calling it reckless gambling that hurts the poor. There are also calls for banning or heavily regulating lotteries in Kerala on account of social impacts. However, successive state governments have retained the lottery system as it generates massive revenue for funding public welfare without burdening taxpayers.
As long as lotteries enjoy strong public support, they are likely to continue strongly in Kerala. The state lottery model has even been recommended by some experts as a progressive way of taxation. The Kerala lottery is also adapting well with latest technologies like mobile apps for online sales. For the foreseeable future, the weekly lottery draws look set to thrive as a key Government of Kerala institution.
Conclusion
Tracing the history, the Kerala state lottery originated from the erstwhile Travancore royals in the late 19th century. After independence, the Kerala government took over operations in 1967 and expanded it heavily. Technological evolutions like computerised draws, online sales and quick pick options have made lotteries more efficient and transparent.
Over 50 years, the Kerala lottery has become one of the biggest lottery systems in India today. It generates over ₹7000 crore in annual revenue for the Kerala government and employs lakhs of people. The lottery system has had a huge socio-economic impact, transforming many lives overnight while also causing some addiction issues. With strong public support, the future of the Kerala state lottery looks secure as a prominent institution and revenue earner for Kerala’s development.