Which Indian states run lotteries, the national law they all follow, and what sets the Kerala lottery apart — paper-only tickets, one draw a day and sales through authorised agents.
Lotteries are legal in some Indian states and absent in others, and the states that run them do it in different ways. Here is how the Kerala lottery compares.
One national law, many state choices
All state lotteries in India operate under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010. The law does not force any state to run a lottery: each state decides whether to organise one or to prohibit lotteries in its territory. A state can also prohibit the sale of tickets of lotteries run by other states.
Where a state does run a lottery, the same conditions apply everywhere, including:
- the state government conducts the draws itself, and the draws take place within the state,
- at most one draw a week for each lottery and at most six bumper draws a year,
- no draws on National Holidays, and no prizes based on single, double or triple digits,
- tickets printed at a Government or approved high-security press, and
- results published in newspapers and the state's Official Gazette.
Which states run lotteries?
According to 2025 news coverage, lotteries are legal in 13 states: Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram. Many other states, such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, do not run a state lottery. State laws change, so treat any list as a snapshot.
What makes Kerala's lottery different
Run directly by a government department
Kerala runs its lottery through its own Directorate of State Lotteries, with district and sub-offices across the state. Tickets are sold through a network of authorised agents and sellers within Kerala. Other states have often relied on private intermediaries: a 2017 audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, for example, describes Sikkim organising its lotteries through private marketing agents and distributors.
Paper tickets only
Kerala banned computerised and online lotteries in 2005, and the Supreme Court upheld that ban in 2015. In October 2025 the department repeated that there is no online sale of Kerala lottery tickets and no official tie-up with any website or app. The national rules do allow online lotteries in states that choose to run them, so this is a deliberate choice by Kerala.
One draw a day
Kerala holds one draw a day, at 3 PM at Gorky Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, with a different weekly lottery for each day. The national rules allow a state up to 24 draws a day across all its lottery schemes, and some states use that. Nagaland's "Dear" lotteries, for instance, have several draws every day.
Keeping other states' lotteries out
Kerala has also used its powers to restrict lotteries from other states. In 2021 the Kerala High Court upheld 2018 amendments to the Kerala Paper Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, which Nagaland had challenged over the sale of its tickets in Kerala. Nagaland appealed, and in 2022 the Supreme Court issued notice to Kerala. We have not found a final judgment in that case, so the question may still be open.
A welfare focus
Kerala's lottery has been tied to welfare from the start. The Karunya scheme provides medical financial help, and a welfare fund board supports lottery agents and sellers.
At a glance
|
Kerala |
Other lottery states (varies by state) |
| Who runs it |
Directorate of State Lotteries |
State lottery departments; often with private distributors or marketing agents |
| Ticket type |
Paper only (online banned since 2005) |
Paper, and online where the state allows it |
| Draws |
One a day at 3 PM |
One to several draws a day |
| Sales |
Authorised agents and sellers within Kerala |
Distributors and agents, sometimes across state lines where permitted |
| Results |
Official website, Kerala Government Gazette |
Each state's website and gazette |
What this means for you
- Buy from authorised sellers in the state that issues the ticket, and be wary of anyone selling Kerala tickets online.
- Check results with the issuing state's official sources: a Nagaland ticket can only be checked against Nagaland's results.
- Ponkudam covers Kerala State Lotteries only. To check a Kerala ticket, use our search or the recent results.
Sources
