THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sales of the ‘Thiruvonam Bumper’ lottery have surged past the five million mark this week, with 52.22 lakh tickets of this mega raffle already sold, as reported by the State Lotteries Department. Compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, overall sales of the annual bumper lottery have witnessed a remarkable 30 per cent increase from 40 lakh tickets to date. The department anticipates even higher sales figures this year, with over two weeks remaining until the sales close on September 20th. The draw to select the lucky winners will take place in the afternoon on that day.
The Thiruvonam lottery, known for offering arguably the highest first prize on a single ticket in the country, is attracting buyers from various states. While, by law, state lotteries can only be sold within Kerala, there is no prohibition on residents of other states purchasing them. They can claim their prize if they can establish that the ticket was bought within Kerala. In 2022, the first prize was increased to Rs 25 crore, and this year, an additional one lakh prizes were introduced, bringing the total number of prizes to 5,34,670.
Compared to the previous year, there has been a significant increase of 1.36 lakh prizes. The total prize money offered stands at Rs 125.54 crore. In 2022, a total of 66,55,914 lakh tickets were sold, with 3,97,911 prizes awarded. Last year, the second prize was Rs 5 crore for a single ticket, whereas this time there will be twenty-second prizes of Rs 1 crore each. Additionally, there are twenty-third prizes of Rs 50 lakh each, whereas the previous year had ten-third prizes of Rs 1 crore each. The ticket price remains at Rs 500, with an agent’s commission of Rs 97, and tickets are printed in ten series.
Warning
The department has issued a stern warning against the purchase of virtual tickets. Reports have surfaced of several agents conducting sales through platforms like WhatsApp, sending images of tickets instead of delivering the physical tickets. This practice is illegal, and customers risk being defrauded. The department has declared its intent to revoke the licenses of registered agents engaged in such malpractice.