Palakkad: The number of lottery dealers in Palakkad has increased considerably in recent years, owing to several lucky draw winners from the district. In the last four months, 403 new lottery agencies have been registered with the district lottery office, while 88 have restarted their businesses and renewed their licences. 

The fact is that there are not enough tickets to meet the rising demand for them in the district. The trend had begun post July 26, 2023, when the monsoon bumper ticket sold in the district won the first prize amounting to Rs 10 crores in the lucky draw. The craze for lotteries hit the zenith when the Onam bumper ticket sold at Walayar in Palakkad won the first prize of Rs 25 crores in the lucky draw. 

At present, there are 7,886 lottery agencies in Palakkad. Meanwhile, the demand is relatively higher for Rs 40 tickets, sold on all days except Wednesdays. On the other hand, there is less demand for Rs 50 lottery tickets, which are sold only on Wednesday. 

The agents tend to bet on Rs 40 tickets as they are more popular among the public and offer better commission of up to 12 per cent of the prize money. Meanwhile, the commission for a Rs 50 ticket is just 10 per cent of the prize money.

On average, 6.24 lakh lottery tickets, costing Rs 40 each, and 5.64 tickets priced at Rs 50 each, are being sold on a daily basis in Palakkad. 

However, due to increased demand for tickets and a surge in the number of agents, lottery officials indicated that they were unable to deliver the lotteries to all parties. 

The ‘Tamil Nadu’ factor

Since lottery sales are prohibited in Tamil Nadu, agents in Kerala have set up hundreds of lottery agents and shops on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, including Vadakarapathy, Velanthavalam, Kozhinjampara, Eruthenpathy and Walayar.  

If a Tamil Nadu resident wins a lottery for up to Rs 5,000, he or she merely needs to provide the Aadhar card details to receive the money. If the amount is more than Rs 5,000, the claimant must present a document detailing their reason for visiting the state to the lottery directorate office.

Meanwhile, the officials have warned the agencies that their licences would be cancelled if they sell the tickets across the border in Tamil Nadu. 

In border regions such as the Chittur sub lottery office in Palakkad, 3.384 lakh tickets priced at Rs 40 each are sold on a daily basis.