Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is aiming to raise more than Rs 40 crore through the sale of Onam bumper lottery tickets this year.
The government has hiked the first prize money to a whopping Rs 25 crore. Though the ticket price, too, has been increased to Rs 500 each, the Directorate of Lotteries is confident that they will all be sold out.
The directorate's confidence stems from the fact that all 54 lakh tickets, barring eight damaged ones, printed last year were sold at Rs 300 a piece.
Lotteries printed daily under various names are being sold completely in the State. Still, the government has capped the number of lotteries being printed per day to 1.8 crore to prevent it from becoming gambling.
The face value of the upcoming Onam bumper is Rs 396, and the remaining Rs 109, accounting for 28 per cent of the total cost, is GST, which will be equally shared between the Centre and State governments.
The State government is expecting to get about Rs 30 lakh as tax alone from the bumper lottery sale, if all the 54 lakh tickets are sold. After awarding the prize money and agents' commission the Lotteries Department will get 5 per cent to 8 per cent, which would come to almost Rs 12 crore, which when added to the Rs 30, would be more than Rs 40 crore.
The government is considering raising the first prize money of the Christmas-New Year bumper lottery, too, to Rs 25 crore, if the Onam bumper meets the target. The prize money of the other four bumper tickets, too, may increase.
The lottery chronicle
November 1, 1967: Kerala government launches the first lottery. Prize money: Rs 50,000
1968 Christmas Bumper: Rs 1 lakh and Ambassador car
January, 1970: Rs 2 lakh
April, 1970: Rs 3 lakh
1970 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 5 lakh
1971 Christmas Bumper: Rs 10 lakh
1977 Bumper: Rs 15 lakh
1983 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 25 lakh
1983 Christmas Bumper: Rs 27 lakh
1986 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 25 lakh and Maruti car
1991 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 50 lakh and Maruti car
1997 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 75 lakh and Maruti car
Onakodi begins
2000 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 1 crore
2008 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 2 crore
2009 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 1 crore and 200 sovereigns
2010 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 2.5 crore and 2.5 kg gold
2011 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 5 crore
2012 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 5 crore and 1 kg gold
2014 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 6 crore
2015 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 7 crore
2016 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 8 crore
2017 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 10 crore
2019 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 12 crore
2022 Thiruvonam Bumper: Rs 25 crore
