Question : SRAVANA SAKA LOTTERY

(a) the reasons for enactment of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 (No. 17/1998);

(b) whether this Act provides independence to State Governments to control the Lottery system;

(c) if so, the names of the States where Lotteries have been permitted and totally banned, separately;

(d) whether lottery tickets are still being sold at certain places in the country;

(e) if so, the income being earned by the Government by the lottery trade, State-wise;

(f) whether the Government has formulated any scheme to impose ban on lotteries; and

(g) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI SRIPRAKASH JAISWAL)

(a): The reported malpractices in the conduct of lotteries and its impact on the poorer sections of the society prompted the Government to enact the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.

(b): The State Governments organize lotteries in their States in accordance with the conditions imposed under section 4 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998. As per Section 5 of the Act, a State Government may, within the State prohibit the sale of tickets of a lottery organized, conducted or promoted by every other State. The Supreme Court in its judgment dated 7.5.1999 in Civil Appeal No. 2747 of 1999 M/s. B.R. Enterprises Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others, passed an order that the State Governments can ban the sale of tickets of lotteries of all other States in their own jurisdiction only if it decides not to have any lottery within its territory including its own lottery.

(c) & (d): As per available information, the Governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pubjab, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal are organizing lotteries in their States. The Governments of Goa and Manipur have at present temporarily banned lotteries. The Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal have under Section 5 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 prohibited the sale of lottery tickets within their States.

(e): No such data is maintained centrally.

(f) & (g): The Lotteries (Prohibition) Bill, 1999 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 23.12.1999.