After 1999 ban, Cabinet approves resumption of lotteries in Himachal

The cash-strapped state of Himachal Pradesh has decided to allow the operation of lotteries with an expected annual revenue between Rs 50 to Rs 100 crore.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet at its meeting held here today. Himachal Government had banned sale of tickets of all types of lotteries operated by Himachal, other states and UT’s in 1999. This was done under Sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.

The lotteries will be sold in the state after tendering its operations under the various laws in this regard. The debt burden of the state government has already crossed Rs 1 lakh crore and the state government is keen to generate additional revenue from other sectors, including mining, tourism and power.

The Finance Department made a detailed presentation before the Cabinet on the issue of starting operation of lotteries in the hill state to generate additional revenue. The decision has been taken on the recommendation of the Resource Mobilisation committee, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. As per the presentation made by the Finance Department, Kerala had earned over Rs 13,582 crore, Punjab Rs 235 crore and a small state like Sikkim about Rs 30 crore in one year.

The states that are presently operating lotteries include Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram.

It was later in February 2014 that Himachal had banned the sale of Manipur and Bhutan lotteries, which were being sold. The move to ban sale of all kinds of lotteries was prompted by several instances of huge monetary losses to individuals.

However, there was no ban on sale of online lotteries as the legislation for banning lotteries in 1998 made no mention of this.