Kerala lottery: Sharp fall in Pooja Bumper sales

Kanhangad: The sales of Kerala State Lottery’s Pooja Bumper tickets have dropped sharply — a decline not seen in recent times. The tickets have not sold as expected, with only 26 lakh tickets sold so far, just two weeks ahead of the draw. Last year, of the 45 lakh tickets printed, 39 lakh were sold. At the same point last year, more than 32 lakh tickets were sold.

The Pooja Bumper ticket, priced at ₹300, offers first prize of ₹12 crore. This year, the ticket was released after Navaratri and Vijayadashami. The delay was due to the postponement of the Thiruvonam Bumper draw, which pushed back the distribution of Pooja Bumper tickets.

Following an increase in GST, there has been a significant reduction in both agent commissions and prize commissions. This has affected the daily income of lottery workers, and now, even the bumper sales are not meeting expectations. Although the Finance Minister had promised to revise the cuts in commissions, it has not yet been implemented.

Even though tickets are being distributed completely from the main lottery offices, daily lottery tickets often remain unsold with small-scale agents. Earlier, when small agents bought tickets from wholesalers, they earned ₹7.35 per ₹50 ticket. After the GST hike, this has dropped to ₹6.35.

For instance, if a sold ticket won a ₹5,000 prize, the agent’s commission, which was ₹570, has now been reduced to ₹450.