Government Lottery in India (Updated Schemas 2024)

The Government Lottery in India is a valid and legal way of playing local lotteries in 13 states. It holds the control of lotteries in India, while the other 17 states still do not offer lotteries of their own and prohibit particular lotteries in India. Let’s understand how the Government Lottery works and the best and lesser-known alternative that everyone in India can use.

Regardless of where you live in India, even in one of the 17 states that ban lottery, you can still play dozens of international lotteries. That is only possible thanks to the online lottery websites that are headquartered outside of India, which are not affected by Indian law.

How Does a Government Lottery Works in India?

Since The Lotteries Regulation Act of 1998, each Indian State has been free to determine its own rules connected to lotteries. A total of 13 states have regulated it, while the remaining states consider it illegal within the territory.

In the states where there is a Government Lottery, these are the main characteristics that must be followed according to Indian law:

  • The State Government is responsible for selling the tickets or authorizing agents and vendors to do so.
  • The revenue is directed to the State’s treasury, as well as unclaimed prizes.
  • Indians can only play lotteries from their State – or the online lotteries that we recommend.
  • All the Indian lotteries are based on more than one digit and draws that occur after sales stop.
  • More than one lottery draw occurs every week.
  • The law does not affect international websites that are not hosted in India, allowing Indians to play on them regardless of the State where they live.

There are 13 states that consider the lottery legal and where players can enjoy a good variety of games. In those states, you can see that the prizes are not huge.

Arunachal Pradesh State Lotteries

You will find seven different lottery schemes in Arunachal Pradesh, one for each day of the week and all with the same jackpot prize of ₹26.03 lakhs. All those lottery games have three daily drawings, which can boost the chances for the starting price of ₹6 only.

DayLotteryDrawing TimeJackpot
MondaySingam Stack

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
TuesdaySingam Volcano

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
WednesdaySingam Peak

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
ThursdaySingam Summit

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
FridaySingam Pinnacle

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
SaturdaySingam Cliff

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs
SundaySingam Heap

» Morning – 10:55 a.m.

» Day – 03:00 p.m.

» Evening – 07:00 p.m.

₹26.03 lakhs

The lowest possible prize of ₹120 is enough to cover the cost of up to 20 tickets, which is great. Also, players from that state can easily participate in the Holi Bumper drawing with bigger prizes now and then.

Arunachal Pradesh State Lottery Summary
Number of Lotteries7
Minimum Ticket Price₹6
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹26.03 lakhs
Drawing OfficeItanagar
Official Websitearunachalpradeshlottery.org

Assam State Lotteries

There are 10 lotteries occurring every single day of the week under a different name every day but at the same exact drawing time. For example, the Future lottery is named Sincere on Mondays but Faithful on Tuesdays, and so on.

Despite that complexity, the Assam state lottery has ₹50,000 to ₹100,000  jackpots for all those drawings with tickets that cost ₹2 each. Each one of the drawings has 6 prize tiers, and you can also participate in 3 additional Special Series drawings with 4 tiers only and ₹1 lakh jackpots.

DayLotteryDrawing TimeJackpot
Every DayFuture12:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Singam05:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Kuil08:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Swarnalaxmi03:00 p.m.₹50,000
Lion03:00 p.m.₹50,000
Vishnu12:00 p.m.₹50,000
Kumaran12:00 p.m.₹50,000
Nallaneram07:00 p.m.₹50,000
Mani07:00 p.m.₹50,000
Thangam07:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Vairam03:00 p.m.₹50,000
Deer08:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Rosa08:00 p.m.₹1 lakh
Special Series (3 drawings)03:00 p.m.₹1 lakh

With so many daily lotteries, it may seem difficult to understand why players still play international lotteries online. However, everything is clearer when we notice how the prizes are smaller in India. Still, for tickets starting at ₹2, the local lotteries are a nice addition to your daily lotteries as well.

Assam State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹2 – 7
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹1 lakh
Drawing OfficeKokrajhar
Official Websitehttps://assamlotteries.in/

Goa State Lotteries

If the lottery scheme in Assam looked complex, imagine having six different schemes with several daily drawings for each one of them, plus monthly draws. That is the availability of state lotteries in Goa, which has been offering lotteries legally for over 25 years already.

Goa Rajshree 10 Series

DayLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
MondaySom05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
TuesdayMangal05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
WednesdayBudh05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
ThursdayGuru05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
FridayShukra05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
SaturdayShani05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000
SundayRavi05:40 p.m.₹10₹10,000

Goa Rajshree 50 Series

DayLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
MondaySom07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
TuesdayMangal07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
WednesdayBudh07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
ThursdayGuru07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
FridayShukra07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
SaturdayShani07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh
SundayRavi07:30 p.m.₹50₹10 lakh

Goa Labhlaxmi Weekly Series

DayLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
MondaySom05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
TuesdayMangal05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
WednesdayBudh05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
ThursdayGuru05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
FridayShukra05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
SaturdayShani05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
SundayRavi05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000

Among all those lotteries, the Labhlaxmi Series is a perfect one to combine with the horoscope lucky numbers. On top of those, keep in mind that you may also participate in monthly drawings with prizes of up ₹1.98 crore – with proportionally expensive tickets. In short, we know about Goa:

Goa State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹6 – 10
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹10,000 – ₹2 crore
Drawing OfficePanjim
Official Websitehttps://statelotteries.goa.gov.in/

Kerala State Lotteries

A reference in terms of government lottery in India, Kerala has been offering lotteries since the 1960s. Even so, it is a well-organized scheme with a few lotteries and nothing like the complexity of Goa, for example.

DayLotteryDrawing TimePriceJackpot
MondayWin-Win» 03:00 p.m.₹30₹65 lakh
TuesdayDhanasree» 03:00 p.m.₹40₹75 lakh
WednesdayAkshaya» 03:00 p.m.₹30₹65 lakh
ThursdayKarunya Plus» 03:00 p.m.₹50₹1 crore
FridayBhagyanidhi» 03:00 p.m.₹30₹65 lakh
SaturdayKarunya» 03:00 p.m.₹50₹1 crore
SundayPournami» 03:00 p.m.₹30₹65 lakh

The tickets for those weekly drawings start at ₹30, and players can use our Kerala lottery guessing tool to help them choose the numbers. Just remember that those drawings are only available locally and not on the internet.

Every month, there is one additional drawing, more precisely, on the 1st Sunday of the month. The tickets cost from ₹100, and players can win up to ₹1 crore. Our Kerala lottery chart can help you avoid losing the date for the next drawings.

Moreover, people can participate in the special Bumper Draws that occur six times over the year:

MonthLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
JanuaryNew Year and Christmas» 02:00 p.m.₹100₹16 Crore
MarchSummer» 02:00 p.m.₹200₹6 Crore
MayVishu» 02:00 p.m.₹100₹10 Crore
JulyMonsoon» 02:00 p.m.₹100₹10 Crore
SeptemberThiruvonam» 02:00 p.m.₹200₹10 Crore
NovemberPooja» 02:00 p.m.₹100₹25 Crore

If you want a summary, here is what you still need to know about the government lotteries in Kerala:

Kerala State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹30 – 50
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹25 Crore
Drawing OfficesErnakulam, Kattappana, Punalur, Thamarassery, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Official Websitestatelottery.kerala.gov.in

Madhya Pradesh State Lottery

After three decades of their banishment, the Madhya Pradesh lotteries were only legalized in August 2021. Therefore, there is still no information on them, and we are patiently waiting for more details to share with you.

If you find some information on its government lotteries online, that is probably only old details about the lotteries before the ban.

Maharashtra State Lotteries

Among the oldest Indian government lotteries, just like Kerala, Maharashtra runs an impressive number of 18 lotteries running on a daily basis. The most important lotteries are the weekly ones:

DayLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
MondaySagar Laxmi04:15 p.m.₹50₹10,000
Gajlaxmi Som04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Bhagyashali05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Dhanlaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
TuesdayPadmini04:15 p.m.₹50₹10,000
Gajlaxmi Manga04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Shubh05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Mahalaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
WednesdayAkshay04:15 p.m.₹50₹10,000
Gajlaxmi Budh04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Vijayee05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Vijayalaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
ThursdayAkarshak Pushkraj04:15 p.m.₹50₹10,000
Gajlaxmi Guru04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Gaurav05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Deeplaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
FridayVaibhav Laxmi04:15 p.m.₹50₹10,000
Gajlaxmi Akarshak04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Dahn05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Rajlaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
SaturdayMaharashtra Laxmi04:15 p.m.₹50₹7,00,000
Gajlaxmi Shani04:45 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Ganesh Laxmi Samruddhi05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Sahyadri Prabhalaxmi05:15 p.m.₹15₹10,000
SundayGajlaxmi Ravi04:15 p.m.₹20₹10,000
Mohini04:45 p.m.₹15₹10,000
Ganeshlaxmi Vaibhav05:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000

Although you may find information on prizes of up to ₹7 Lakh, their tickets cost more, and you will mostly find ₹10,000 prizes, as it can be found in their results and proves that international lotteries pay better:

Madya Pardesh results Lakh

Between the period of 03:00 – 05:15 p.m., there are four mini draws occurring on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays every week. Moreover, monthly drawings called Maharashtra Sahyadri occur on a specific date at 04:00 p.m. with ₹50 tickets and ₹11 lakhs jackpots.

Other monthly lotteries include Ganeshlaxmi with tickets of ₹100 and ₹22 lakh prizes; Tejaswini costing ₹200 with ₹12 lakh prizes, and; Gaurav, costing ₹50 each ticket with a ₹35 lakh jackpot.

Now, if you want to know about the lottery games with the biggest jackpots in all of Maharashtra, there are 7 Bumper Drawings throughout the year. Basically, there are 5 of them in October, one in April, and another one in November, with a maximum win of ₹1 crore for the most expensive ticket (₹200).

Maharashtra State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹10 – 200
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹1 Crore
Drawing OfficesMumbai
Official Websitelottery.maharashtra.gov.in

Manipur State Lotteries

Just like Kerala’s government lottery in India, Manipur improved its daily drawings and now offers a total of five. Of course, each one of them has a different name to help you locate the results of those governmental lotteries:

Day10:00 a.m.12:00 p.m.04:00 p.m.07:00 p.m.09:00 p.m.TicketPrize
MondayDemantoidTagetesFoxgloveCandytuftBadget₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
TuesdayEmeraldHeleniumWedeliaKalmiaLizard₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
WednesdayHalfbreedAnemoneSedumDahliaOtter₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
ThursdayTriphaneGerberaEchiumUrsiniaStone₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
FridayN/AVerbenaNepetaNemesiaSeagull₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
SaturdayN/AAlyssumHonestyFreesiaWalrus₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh
SundayN/ABegoniaVincaFlumeiaTurtle₹6 – 11₹21 – 27 Lakh

The lowest possible prize you may get with those drawings is ₹500, almost ten times the price of a ticket.

Here is the summary of the Manipur government lottery in India:

Manipur State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹6
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹27 Lakhs
Drawing OfficesMoreh, Chandel
Official Websitewww.manipurlotteries.com

Meghalaya State Lotteries

The state lotteries in Meghalaya occur five times every day of the week, with prizes up to ₹29 lakhs and results found online in the following format:

Meghalaya lottery results

Source: meghalayastatelottery.com

As for the names of its daily drawings, it does not follow the tradition of nominating each drawing differently and has only a name for each different day. Our table has them all listed:

DayLotteryTicketPrize
MondayFuture Stream₹6₹29 Lakh
TuesdayFuture Torrent₹6₹29 Lakh
WednesdayFuture Flush₹6₹29 Lakh
ThursdayFuture Cascade₹6₹29 Lakh
FridayFuture Drought₹6₹29 Lakh
SaturdayFuture Inlet₹6₹29 Lakh
SundayFuture Brook₹6₹29 Lakh

There are drawings at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 04:30 p.m., and 06:30 p.m. every day under the same conditions.

While it is true that the numbers of the results are published online, it is not the most reliable source because it often skips many weeks or months. Here are the summarized details of the Meghalaya state lottery in India:

Meghalaya State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹6
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹29 Lakhs
Drawing OfficesShillong
Official Websitemeghalayastatelottery.com

Mizoram State Lotteries

The totality of the lottery schemes in Mizoram includes weekly, monthly, and yearly drawings to keep the lottery fans busy. We can identify the main weekly lotteries occurring in the state as follows:

NameTicket CostPrize
Rajshree Bhushan₹10₹10,000
Rajshree Day₹6₹10,000
Golden King₹10₹10,000

Also, making it easy to guess the ticket price based on their names, the monthly drawings have prizes of up to ₹10 lakh for the most expensive choice:

DayLotteryTicket
1st TuesdayRajshree 250₹250
2nd TuesdayRajshree 500₹500
3rd TuesdayRajshree 10₹10
4th TuesdayRajshree 20₹20
1st FridayRajshree 25₹25
2nd FridayRajshree 50₹50
3rd FridayRajshree 30₹30
4th FridayRajshree 100₹100

Finally, you may also participate in the yearly drawing called Rajshree Basant Panchami, specifically during the Basant Panchami in the month of February or January. It occurs at 02:00 p.m. with a price cost of ₹250 for the chance in 8 prize tiers between ₹300 and the jackpot ₹10 lakh.

In summary:

Mizoram State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹6
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹10 Lakhs
Drawing OfficesIF&SL Building, Tuikhuahtlang, Aizawl
Official Websiteifsl.mizoram.gov.in

Nagaland State Lotteries

If we do not count the Bumper Draws that you may participate in during the year if you live in Nagaland, the state lottery runs 4 different schemes on a daily basis. They were created to make sure players were in legality and safe since it is almost impossible to stop lottery fans from playing.

Day01:00 p.m.06:00 p.m.08:00 p.m.TicketPrize
MondayDear Ganga MorningDear Sun DayDear Flamingo Evening₹6₹1 Crore
TuesdayDear Teesta MorningDear Moon DayDear Parrot Evening₹6₹1 Crore
WednesdayDear Torsa MorningDear Mercury DayDear Eagle Evening₹6₹1 Crore
ThursdayDear Padma MorningDear Venus DayDear Falcon Evening₹6₹1 Crore
FridayDear Hooghly MorningDear Earth DayDear Vulture Evening₹6₹1 Crore
SaturdayDear Kosai MorningDear Mars DayDear Ostrich Evening₹6₹1 Crore
SundayDear Damodar MorningDear Jupiter DayDear Hawk Evening₹6₹1 Crore

I do not know about you, but I could spend hours curious about the names given to the Indian government lotteries. Besides, you may also participate in the Labhlaxmi drawings that occur Monday through Sunday at 04:00 p.m. with the ticket price of ₹10. The odds are better, but the maximum prize is only ₹10,000 – that’s a small payment compared to the ₹1 crore of the drawings above.

Throughout the week, players can take part in Dear 100, a lottery with tickets of ₹100 and a jackpot of ₹10 lakhs, or Dear 50, which has ₹50 tickets and a jackpot of ₹5 lakhs.

Let’s summarize this state lottery:

Nagaland State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹6 – 10
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹1 Crore
Drawing OfficesKohima
Official Websitewww.nagalandlotteries.com

Punjab State Lotteries

The fact that Punjab is one of the few states in India that has banished online lotteries in India could make you wonder what they offer to keep their players in line. The answer is: not much. Beginning this year of 2023, daily drawings are held in Punjab., and the state limits itself to:

LotteryCostPrize
Dear Laxmi 20₹10₹9,500
Dear Laxmi 10₹20₹9,500

Aside from them, keep an eye on monthly drawings. The Punjab Lottery is not as regular with them as with daily lotteries, but it is worth taking a note:

DayLotteryTicket CostPrize
2nd SaturdayPunjab State Dear 50 Monthly₹50₹4,75,000
3rd SaturdayPunjab State Dear 100 Monthly₹100₹9,50,000
2nd ThursdayPunjab State Dear 200 Monthly₹200₹1,2 Crore
3rd SaturdayPunjab State Dear 500 Monthly₹500₹2 Crore
Not Regular AnymorePunjab State Dear 1000 Monthly₹1,000₹1,25 Crore
Not Regular AnymorePunjab State Dear 2000 Monthly₹2,000₹5 Crore

Therefore, despite not making online lotteries legal in its territory, Punjab fails to offer enough lottery schemes to its players, even with the occasional Bumper Draws. Here is the summary of the current situation:

Punjab State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹10
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹5 Crore
Drawing OfficesZila Parishad Building, Ludhiana
Official Websitepunjabstatelotteries.gov.in

Sikkim State Lotteries

The Sikkim state lotteries can be divided into daily and fortnightly groups of drawings. Depending on the time of the day, it may vary in terms of the ticket price and prizes, for example:

DayLotteryDrawing TimeTicket PriceJackpot
MondayLabhlaxmi Gold04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Ruby07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Eagle08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
TuesdayLabhlaxmi Platinum04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Topaz07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Parrot08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
WednesdayLabhlaxmi Silver04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Jade07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Peacock08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
ThursdayLabhlaxmi Emerald04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Garnet07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Sparrow08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
FridayLabhlaxmi Sapphire04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Onyx07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Ostrich08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
SaturdayLabhlaxmi Supreme04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Opal07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Falcon08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh
SundayLabhlaxmi Pearl04:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Labhlaxmi Diamond07:00 p.m.₹10₹10,000
Dear 100 Swan08:00 p.m.₹100₹19 Lakh

The fortnightly drawings are called Dear 20 and Dear 50, running every two weeks at 08:00 p.m. each with tickets at ₹20 and ₹50, respectively. As for the prizes, Dear 20 pays from ₹20 to ₹9 lakhs and Dear 50 from ₹100 to ₹11 lakhs!

In summary:

Sikkim State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹10
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹19 Lakh
Drawing OfficesBalwakhani, Gangtok
Official Websitesikkimlotteries.com

West Bengal State Lotteries

You probably came across a lot of misinformation regarding the West Bengal government lotteries, mostly because people toss content on the web that they do not even know to be true. Although you might have read otherwise, there are paper lotteries in West Bengal, and they are divided as follows:

DayLotteryTicket
MondayBanga Lakshmi Teesta₹2
TuesdayBanga Lakshmi Torsha₹2
WednesdayBanga Lakshmi Raidak₹2
ThursdayBangabhumi Bhagirathi Super Draw₹5
FridayBangabhumi Ajay Super Draw₹5
SaturdayBangasree Damodar Super Draw₹10
SundayBangasree Ichamati Super Draw₹10

With those, you can win as much as ₹40 lakhs every day at 04:00 p.m. Like it happens in other Indian state lotteries, there are special Bumper Draws with prizes from ₹200 to ₹1 Crore. Also, you might be eligible to purchase tickets to the government lotteries of Nagaland from West Bengal. Here is the summary of your state:

West Bengal State Lottery Summary
Minimum Ticket Price₹2 – 10
Offers Online LotteryNo
Highest Jackpot₹1 Crore
Drawing OfficesGanesh Chandra Avenue, Kolkata
Official WebsiteN/A

States With No Government Lottery in India

Some states have made no movement since the Act of 1998. As a consequence, no lotteries are offered, and they cannot be offered without incurring illegality. Fortunately, if you live in one of the 17 states listed below, you can still play on the online lotteries that we recommend because they are not affected by Indian law:

Why Are There Government Lotteries in Only a Few States?

Since the Lotteries (Regulation) Act of 1998, every single state in India has the rules to come up with lottery departments and schemes. Therefore, as long as they follow the determinations of the central government, they could be running a lottery.

Among the criteria found under the Act, we could find:

  • Drawing times must be predetermined. 
  • Each lottery game can only occur once a week – hence the different names for them. 
  • Any unclaimed winner tickets become part of the State’s property. 
  • Government lottery tickets can only be sold by the government or licensed agents. 
  • No more than 6 Bumper Draws can be offered in a year. 
  • The drawings must be conducted by the State and within its territory. 
  • The revenue from the lottery sales must go to the State’s treasury. 
  • Authentic tickets must carry the State’s logo. 
  • Pre-announced numbers cannot match prizes. 
  • No prizes shall be based on the results of a single digit. 
  • The State that is responsible for the lottery is responsible for printing the tickets.

Unfortunately, that Act also gives each state the prerogative to ban the lottery from its territory, and that is what we see in many states. Fortunately, the legislation in all of them except for four – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu – allows the use of online lotteries from abroad.

Comparison - Government Lotteries Vs. Online International Lotteries

It is a fact that there is no online lottery within India with the government lotteries that were introduced here. At the same time, you will be able to play international lotteries online in most states without any problem. Therefore, it makes sense to compare them:

Government LotteryOnline Lotteries
Paper ticketsDigital tickets
Really cheap ticketsExpensive tickets
Individual bettingSyndicates and group play allowed
No promotionsDiscounts, bonuses, and free tickets
Slow claiming processFast money withdrawal
Small jackpotsFrom small to huge jackpots
Only available in 13 statesAvailable almost everywhere
Ticket can be lostTicket always available
Better for budget playsBetter for bigger prizes

Those highlights are characteristics of the two types of lotteries available in India. It is well-known that we can play foreign games from India like Powerball and that there are international lottery winners in India. Of course, they do not show the main problems of paper lotteries, like scam schemes or the terrible odds.

The comparison makes it clear that even the features tend to favor online lotteries in the pros, as the ticket prices can be lowered with promotions, and you can play from anywhere. Also, we cannot compare the huge prizes of real games like Euromillions and the exclusive games that can be played online, like Cricket Lotto.

They are not mutually exclusive, and you can enjoy both if you are in a state with government lotteries in India. Still, reserving most of the budget for the international ones makes much more sense.

How to Claim Prizes From Government Lotteries in India?

Now that you have enough information to decide whether you should play government lotteries in India, it is important to know how to claim prizes from them. Playing is easy, as all it takes is to find a local authorized retailer, but claiming can be much more bureaucratic than on online lottery sites.

Since each state might vary in terms and rules on how to claim prizes, I will describe the process of the Kerala government lottery that I know well:

  1. Fill your copy of the Claim Form.
  2. Take a copy of your winning ticket and make sure to sign both.
  3. Confirm the authenticity of the tickets and two photographs of yours at a notary.
  4. Copy and sign your PAN card.
  5. Take a valid ID document with you to the claim office and enjoy your prize!

The Conclusion

Since 1998, Indian states have been free to legalize and determine the functioning of lotteries within their territory, as long as they follow the rules issued by the Central Government. A total of 13 states currently offer a Government Lottery, being Madhya Pradesh the last State to do so. In another 17 states, a local lottery is prohibited.

Fortunately, Indians from any territory can play online lotteries with better prizes and more interesting formats than those of the Government Lottery in India. All it takes is to choose a reliable online lottery site that is licensed and headquartered outside of India. That way, the local prohibitions that do not mention foreign countries will not impact your game.

FAQ

No. You can play the local Government Lottery in your state if available, but you can enjoy dozens of international lotteries on the websites that we recommend.

Your only option is to play the lottery online using the websites that we have tested and recommend for Indian players. To be honest, that is a much better option with games like Powerball, Euromillions, and dozens of others.

The only possibility when it comes to purchasing lottery tickets from the Government Lottery is to visit a lottery vendor to buy a paper ticket.

Some Indian states offer live drawing results, while others require that you check the official website.

No, there are no free Government Lotteries in India. Every lottery requires that you purchase tickets.

No, you can only play a Government Lottery at an authorized vendor.

Kerala is the state with the biggest prize of up to ₹7 crore.

No, private lotteries are forbidden in India. Fortunately, there is no law against private lottery websites that function online in India and are based elsewhere.