Indian Lotteries

Lotteries are operated and regulated at the state level in India. About half of India's 24 states currently offer lotteries. Lotteries were banned from the state of Kerala in December 2004. The resulting economic hardship on lottery retailers caused the state to reinstate lotteries in Kerala in April 2005.

In May 2007, a provincial high court judge in the southern state of Karnataka upheld a state ban on the selling of lottery tickets. A previous ruling by the court had temporarily blocked the ban, established in March, after lottery operators and vendors argued that the ban infringed on their trade rights in the state.

In May 2017, the Indian government raised the goods and services tax (GST) on profits made by operators offering lottery products to 28%. Prize money received by players is unaffected by this new tax scheme.