Christmas bumper: Kerala govt restores prize money, discards 12 lakh printed tickets

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government’s decision to slash the total prize money for the Christmas-New Year bumper lottery tickets by Rs.9.31 crore has backfired. With the move sparking widespread protests from lottery agents, the state government has withdrawn the notification issued in this regard. Along with the prize money, the authorities also reinstated the agents’ commissions in a bid to pacify the agents.

But this decision forced the government to discard a total of 12 lakh lottery tickets that were printed with the details of the revised prize money. Hence, the release of the Christmas bumper lottery has been delayed. Initially, the government had planned to release the Christmas bumper tickets on December 5, immediately following the Pooja bumper.

This disruption of the ticket disruption impacts one of the state’s major revenue streams at a time when Kerala is grappling with a severe financial crisis. The Lottery Directorate is now working overtime to reprint the tickets and launch them in the market as soon as possible.

The troubles began on December 4, when the government issued a notification on the Christmas bumper tickets by reducing the number of Rs.5,000, Rs.2,000, and Rs.1,000 prizes. Besides the prize money, it also sought to slash agents’ commissions by Rs. 93.16 lakh. Based on this revised prize structure, an initial order for 30 lakh tickets too was placed.

However, the changes triggered outrage among lottery agents. TB Subair, Chairman of the Kerala State Lottery Agents and Sellers Welfare Fund Board, sent a letter to the Director of the lottery directorate opposing the reduction in prize money. “The letter was served upon realising that the changes brought to the prize structure were not attractive”, he said.

In response, the government issued a new notification last Thursday, reverting to the prize structure of the previous Christmas-New Year bumper. This decision required scrapping the 12 lakh tickets already printed, as they carried the now-invalid prize details on their reverse side.

This misstep has resulted in financial losses not only due to the discarded tickets but also because of a 10-day-long delay in ticket release. The postponement has cut into the critical selling period, particularly among the interstate pilgrims visiting Sabarimala.

However, the Lottery Directorate has dismissed allegations of revenue loss. “The tickets will be released soon and the loss can be compensated through sales in the following days'', said S Abraham Renn, Director of Lottery Directorate.

First prize, Rs.20 Crore
The Christmas bumper ticket, priced at Rs.400, offers a first prize of Rs. 20 crore. The lowest prize on offer is Rs.400.  The tickets are released in 10 series, and the drawing of lots is scheduled for February 5.