PALAKKAD: 'Thiruvonam Bumper’ lottery tickets are selling like hotcakes in the state, with officials expecting record sales to ease the strain on the exchequer. With more than two weeks left for the draw, on September 20, over 40 lakh tickets, each costing Rs 500 have been sold across the state till Saturday.
Interestingly, purchases are being driven by districts that share a border with Tamil Nadu, where lottery is banned. Residents from the neighbouring state cross the border to buy tickets from agents in bulk. Some vendors travel in the opposite direction, in trains, and deliver the tickets at stations in the TN. Tickets are also despatched by courier to regular buyers.
Walayar, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, encapsulates this brisk business, driven by lottery stalls that dot both sides of its key artery. These shops are decked up, with tickets tastefully arranged. The area is sparsely populated, with forests and a dam dominating the landscape. But incomes are through the roof, says a local resident. At Walayar junction and along the main highway there are more than 30 makeshift bunk shops selling Kerala lottery tickets.
“We do not have to cross the border to sell the tickets as there is a constant stream of people coming from Tamil Nadu to buy them in bulk,” said Ravi (name changed ), an agent who runs a lottery stall.
“There was also a system of the buyer sending money through payment platforms and the seller scanning and sending pictures of selected tickets via WhatsApp. Such deals are based on trust. Many leading agents hailing from places such as Salem and Tirunelveli have also set up shop here,” says Palaniswamy (name changed) of Kottekad.
“With the RPF intensifying inspections, the practise of agents offloading tickets at stations en route on a single trip has come to a halt. Now, tickets are mostly sent by courier,” said a source.
Concerns over prize money
“The prize money has not been raised for weekly tickets though the number of tickets printed has increased from 63 lakh to 1.08 crore. We have customers complaining that the winning probability has reduced. This has affected sales as regular buyers who used to purchase five tickets are now purchasing only two. Moreover, the commission is higher for larger agents compared to smaller ones,” says Krishnan (name changed) an agent of Fort Maidan in Palakkad.
Except for ‘bumper’ lotteries, there is a quota for agents for other weekly draw tickets. But, there are many ‘sleeping agents’, which include family members of government servants who take a nominal commission and hand over tickets to large agents.
However, these ‘agents’ are eligible for incentives, welfare-fund benefits and pensions despite not sweating it out. Unsold tickets that cannot be returned turn into a burden for smaller agents — eating into their profit margins,” says Krishnadas Peralikalam, an agent from Manjapra, near Vadakkencherry.