http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt_mulls_lottery_ban_across_country/rssarticleshow/3107785.cms
Govt mulls lottery ban across country 7 Jun 2008, 0114 hrs IST,Pradeep Thakur & Ashish Sinha,TNN NEW DELHI: The Centre is considering a ban on all kinds of lottery across the country and has convened an inter-ministerial meeting on June 10 to evolve a consensus and formulate a national policy on the issue. A home ministry official said the government was all for banning lotteries but "this meeting is being held to solicit the opinions of other ministries". "A comprehensive Bill on banning lotteries is already pending in Parliament. We want to create a consensus on the matter," he said. Some states oppose the ban as lotteries bring about huge revenue while most states are against lotteries, considering them to be a form of gambling. At present, 12 states, including Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Goa, promote lottery, a business with an estimated annual turnover of over Rs 25,000 crore. With the traditional paper lottery on the decline, online lotteries have picked up and are on a constant uptrend with a major player like Playwin doing a business of Rs 2,400 crore in 2006-07. Unlike the paper system, online lottery based on random computerized number selection can have multiple winners. The powerful pro-lottery lobby argues that the business not only brings in substantial revenue for governments (which can be used for development) but also generates massive employment, mostly in the unorganized sector. The opponents say that it generates a false sense of security among the poor who get addicted to lottery, often ruining their life. Only Goa permits casinos (on offshore ships) while Sikkim has recently allowed limited on-ground casinos in five-star hotels. The first attempt to ban lotteries came in 1998 when the government brought in the Lotteries (Regulation) Act which banned single-digit and pre-announced number lotteries besides imposing stipulations for conduct of lotteries. The same year, a Lotteries (Regulation) Bill was referred to the parliamentary committee on home affairs. The committee strongly recommended that the government should come out with a comprehensive Bill in consultation with the states and imposes a total ban on the trade across the country. The Constitution provides for Parliament to legislate any law with regard to lotteries falling under entry 40 of List I (Union List) of the Seventh Schedule. However, there are yet another type of lotteries falling under entry 34 of List II (State List) of the Schedule where the jurisdiction of the state comes into picture. Some states like Kerala have been opposing the role of private players in the lottery business even as they see nothing wrong in the state-run lottery establishment. Kerala's online lotteries are getting huge revenues for the state.
