The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Plea on lottery may not be considered

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 13, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Plea on lottery may not be considered

K.V. Subramanya

State has sought a ban on the menace

BANGALORE: Even as the State has requested the Union Government to permit the States to ban online and Internet lotteries, its seriousness in checking the lottery menace has come under a cloud.

Stating that various types of lotteries that are in operation in the State have "marred the livelihood of daily wage earners," Minister for Small Savings and Sericulture Ramachandra Gowda has appealed to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to allow the States to ban Internet and online lotteries.

However, Mr. Ramachandra Gowda has said that the States should be given the option of retaining the traditional paper lottery. There has been an increase in the number of paper lottery draws in the past three months. Every day around 60 paper lottery draws are held in the State and the Government itself conducts eight draws. To beat the competition from other States, the Government has started four new paper lottery draws.

According to sources, the Government has sought a ban only on online and Internet lotteries because these have affected the sales of paper lotteries, particularly the ones conducted by it.

The Government has not been able to ascertain the exact business volume of online lotteries, as the lottery servers are located outside the State.

Unable to determine the transactions of online lotteries, the Government was finding it difficult to collect the matching tax, the sources told The Hindu.

On the other hand, the Government has not taken steps to check illegal lotteries that have been thriving in the State.

After the Government banned the single digit lottery a few years ago, there has been an increase in "matka", a form of gambling.

According to Bangalore police, those running lottery centres in the city are conducting their own unauthorised "matka" draws.

In May 2005, then Minister for Small Saving and Lotteries Basavaraj S. Horatti held a high-level meeting of officials from the Home and Finance departments and discussed steps to check the growing lottery menace.

But the police have so far not invoked the Goonda Act against those running illegal lottery rackets, though they have been conducting raids on lottery centres.

However, the sources said the Union Government was unlikely to consider the State's request to ban online and Internet lotteries as the Karnataka High Court has ordered that if there was to be such a ban, the State should ban all kinds of lotteries, including paper lotteries.

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