The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government in no mood to relent on lottery decision

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 19, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government in no mood to relent on lottery decision

Staff Reporter

Next course of action only after studying the court order: federation

BONE OF CONTENTION: While the Karnataka Government wants to get rid of lottery addiction among people, lottery traders say the move will hit the livelihood of lakhs of people. — file photo: AFP

BANGALORE: Will the lotteries be back in Karnataka? This question has assumed significance in the wake of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday staying a notification by the State Government banning lotteries.

Justice S. Abdul Nazir passed the orders on petitions by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the All-India Federation of Gaming and Allied Industries challenging the March 27, 2007, notification banning the conduct and sale of lotteries in Karnataka and making it into a lottery-free State.

The situation now appears fluid as the lottery traders have not yet decided their next move as they have to study the legal implications of the order.

On the other, the State Government is contemplating various measures to ensure that the ban continues.

Minister for Small Savings and Lotteries Ramachandra Gowda told The Hindu on Wednesday that the Government would take all steps to get the stay vacated with respect to the banning of lottery operations. The Minister was confident that it would be possible to get the stay vacated.

The Government would appeal to the court not to admit the petition challenging the ban.

"If necessary, we will also consider the possibility of filing a fresh petition before the court explaining why the ban decision was taken," he said.

An official of the All-India Federation of Lottery Trade and Allied Industries said over phone from New Delhi that they would decide their next course of action only after thoroughly studying the court order.

`No hasty decision'

"We do not want to take a hasty decision and land in legal wrangles," he said.

The federation representatives will meet the Chief Minister on Thursday and submit a memorandum. Those in the lottery trade say that if the ban continues it would affect the livelihood of nearly 1.15 lakh people who are directly connected with the lottery business in Karnataka.

They are of the view that ban is not the solution to the problem and instead the Government should regulate the lottery trade. The petitioners said lakhs of people, including the physically challenged, were dependent on lotteries and the ban would affect their livelihood.

The Arunachal Pradesh Government in the petition said it was a small State and its main source of revenue was by organising lotteries. It said a large infrastructure in Bangalore had been set up for distributing lotteries and that it would suffer irreparable harm by the lottery ban.

The Karnataka Government, however, is keen that all kinds of lotteries must be banned to maintain social and economic health of lakhs of families affected by lottery addiction.

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