State Lotteries in India

State lotteries in India: what exists and where

Lotteries in India are a state matter. Each state government decides whether to run its own lottery, so what you can buy depends entirely on where you are. Lotteries are legal in 12 states and 5 union territories, and banned in 17 states¹. The states that actually run lotteries you can buy on the street include Maharashtra, Kerala, Nagaland, Sikkim, Goa, West Bengal, Punjab, Meghalaya and a few others; the big operators are covered in the sections below.

Almost everything sold is a traditional paper ticket, bought from licensed agents at stalls and shops. The Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 is the central law that lets state governments organize lotteries or prohibit them, and each state publishes its own draw schedules and prize tables¹. Alongside the state lotteries, state-run lotteries are one of the few fully legal forms of gambling in India, alongside horse racing, rummy and casinos in two states¹. For the wider picture, see gambling in India and gambling laws by state.

Maharashtra State Lottery: weekly, monthly and bumper draws

Maharashtra is the busiest lottery state in India. The Maharashtra State Lottery runs 27 weekly draws, 5 monthly draws and 6 yearly bumper draws². Weekly draws are held on every day of the week except three national holidays, with results published the same day⁶. Draws take place at 4:30 PM, and daily draws are conducted at the lottery office in Vashi, Navi Mumbai between 4:00 PM and 5:30 PM⁷.

The weekly games are the cheapest way in. The seven Ganeshlaxmi weekly lotteries sell tickets at ₹10 each including GST, with 10 series numbered 00 to 09 and ticket numbers 0000 to 9999 in each series³. A typical weekly draw, such as the Sahyadri Deeplaxmi, pays a 4th prize of ₹1,000 for 10 full-digit numbers, a 3rd prize of ₹2,000 for 10 numbers, a 2nd prize of ₹5,000 and a 5th prize of ₹500⁹. Official results are posted on lottery.maharashtra.gov.in and printed in selected newspapers⁵.

Maharashtra monthly lotteries and their prize tables

The Maharashtra monthly lotteries sit between the cheap weeklies and the big bumpers. The Ganesh Laxmi monthly lottery sells tickets at ₹100 including GST, with numbers 0000 to 9999 per series¹⁰. Its prize table runs from a second prize of ₹10,000 down through ₹5,000, ₹2,000, ₹1,000 and ₹500, to a seventh prize of ₹250 paid to 4,000 winners drawn at random across all series¹⁰.

The Tejaswini monthly lottery costs ₹200 including GST and pays 3,510 prizes, including an incentive prize of ₹9,000 for nine winners in the series that miss the first prize¹¹. The Gaurav monthly lottery is a ₹50 ticket with smaller prizes, from a second prize of ₹10,000 down to a sixth prize of ₹100 paid on 10,000 random numbers¹². In all of these, a winner must submit the original ticket to the government, and only one prize can be claimed per ticket¹⁰.

Here is how the three tiers of Maharashtra tickets compare:

Claim window: 90 days from the draw

Maharashtra bumper lotteries: tickets, first prizes and prize funds

The Maharashtra bumper lotteries are the headline events, timed to festivals. Bumper tickets cost ₹200 including GST⁴. The Diwali Bhavyatam also pays an incentive prize of ₹2 lakh each to the winning first-prize number in the four series that miss the main prize¹³.

Other 2025-26 bumpers show the range: the Gyanganga Bumper had a first prize of ₹2 crore across 9,495 tickets, the Dasara Bumper a first prize of ₹1 crore, and the Vin Bumper and Nataraj Nivara Annual Bumper first prizes of ₹10 lakh⁴. The Ganpati Bumper carries a first prize of ₹1 crore, and the Gudhi Padwa Bumper a first prize of ₹2 crore¹⁴.

Nagaland State Lotteries (Dear Lottery)

Nagaland State Lotteries, known for the Dear series of draws, is one of the most widely sold lotteries in India. Claims are handled by the Directorate of State Lotteries at P. R. Hill Junction, Kohima 797 001, and every claim above ₹10,000 must be submitted in the prescribed form within 30 days of the draw¹⁵. The directorate pays prize money only after verifying the ticket's genuineness and deducting all taxes liable¹⁵.

For a claim above ₹10,000 you need:

• The original ticket, signed on the back
• A self-declaration and affidavit on ₹20 stamp paper
• Your PAN card and one ID proof
• Three passport photos taken within the last three months
• A canceled check leaf

Photocopies must be attested by a First-Class Magistrate or Notary Public¹⁵. Claimants inside Nagaland collect from the directorate, and payment is made by RTGS or demand draft after applicable charges¹⁵. The government is not liable for tickets lost in transit, defaced, laminated or mutilated¹⁵.

Sikkim State Lotteries and the Dear draws

Sikkim State Lotteries runs the Dear series of weekly paper lotteries, with draws such as Dear Legend on Monday and Dear Supreme on Thursday held at the Directorate of Sikkim State Lotteries in Deorali, Gangtok¹⁶. Tickets are sold not only in Sikkim but also in West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Nagaland, and only sold tickets are eligible for prizes¹⁶. Small prizes up to ₹10,000 can be paid on the spot by stockists, sellers, retailers and hawkers, while taxable prizes are paid by the directorate in Gangtok¹⁶.

Sikkim's rules set a minimum ticket price of ₹2 and a minimum first prize of ₹10,000 for any scheme, and all prizes must be claimed within 30 days of the draw or they are forfeited to the government¹⁷. The Dear Ganesh Chaturthi Bumper 2026 is the state's big-ticket draw, with up to 6 lakh tickets and a first prize of ₹3 crore, a second prize of ₹10 lakh for two winners, and a fifth prize of ₹5,000 for up to 600 winners¹⁸. The draw is conducted mechanically, based on random technology, before judges appointed by the government¹⁸.

For prizes above ₹10,000, winners submit a claim form in person or by post, with an affidavit on ₹20 stamp paper, and must write their name, signature and address on the back of the ticket¹⁹. Winners of prizes above ₹10,000 should expect their name, address and photo to be published in newspapers and other media¹⁹. Non-residents of the state where they bought the ticket may need to show proof of travel, such as bus, train or flight tickets, and the reason for the trip¹⁹.

Kerala State Lotteries and the rules that apply there

Kerala State Lotteries is the oldest state lottery in India and one of the strictest about how tickets are sold. Only physical tickets are permitted; agents may not sell tickets over the internet, and no agent may sell Kerala tickets outside the state, directly or indirectly²⁰. Online lottery was banned in Kerala by a government order dated January 13, 2005²⁰. Tickets may never be sold above face value²¹.

Agencies are issued only through the District Lottery Offices, each of which has its own code, such as Q for Kollam²². One point that comes up often: 2-digit, 3-digit and 4-digit number games based on Kerala lottery results are not permissible in Kerala, and acting as an agent or promoter of such games is not allowed²¹. If you are in Kerala, buy from a licensed agent, keep the physical ticket, and check the official result.

Goa and other state lotteries

Goa State Lotteries runs its own draws alongside the state's famous casinos. Maharashtra's authorized-lottery list also shows how local the trade is: licensed agents include small operations like Jalaram Lottery in Goregaon and Maharaja Lottery Center in Ichalkaranji, selling the state's traditional paper schemes from single shops²³. The state publishes a weekly list of the 24 to 27 traditional paper lottery schemes authorized for sale in any given week²⁴.

If you are combining a lottery ticket with a casino trip, see Goa casinos and casinos in India.

Ticket prices, GST and tax on winnings

Ticket prices are set by each scheme. In Maharashtra, weekly Ganeshlaxmi tickets cost ₹10, the Gaurav monthly ₹50, the Ganesh Laxmi monthly ₹100, and Tejaswini monthly and all bumper tickets ₹200, all including GST³. GST on lottery ticket sales was raised from 28% to 40% with effect from September 22, 2025, and the Maharashtra schemes note that GST is recovered on ticket sales at prevailing rates under the GST Act 2017³.

On the winning side, prize money above ₹10,000 attracts income tax deduction at source, which is why PAN submission is a must for claims in Sikkim and Nagaland¹⁹. For the full picture of what you keep after a win, see tax on gambling winnings in India.

How to claim a prize and claim deadlines

The claim process is similar across states, with different deadlines. In Maharashtra, prizes up to ₹10,000 can be claimed from the retail agent you bought the ticket from, and anything above that must be claimed from the Deputy Director, Maharashtra State Lottery, at the Vashi office, along with the original ticket, within 90 days of the draw date⁵. The office is at T-Block, 1st Floor, Plot No. 7, Dana Bazar, APMC Market, Sector 19-B, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400 705, with helplines on 022-27846720 and 022-27845481⁵.

Nagaland and Sikkim both give you 30 days from the draw date, after which the prize is forfeited¹⁵. Everywhere, the original ticket is mandatory: sign the back of it when you buy, keep it safe from damage, and expect tampered or defaced tickets to be rejected¹⁹. If you lose a winning ticket, there is no claim without it, and the state is not liable for tickets lost in postal transit¹⁹.