LOTTERY INDUSRY

FROM GAMBLE TO GUARANTEE
Lottery has many facets. It has a very noble history, too complexive and confusing processing, involvement of inevitable corruption but there is undoubtedly a very bright and prosperous future.
Lottery’s nobility can be’ judged from the fact that lottery has the longest record of legality. It was used by Augustus, Nero and other Roman emperors to finance building projects and enhance imperial revenue. However the earliest state lotteries are reported to have been conducted in France in 1520. Ten years later, a large one was held under government auspices in Florence, Italy. Through the centuries, lotteries have been conducted in England, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, United States and of course India, In England, the first lottery of record was announced in 1569 with Queen Elizabeth as patroness; and in the new world there were lotteries as early as the 17th century, chiefly for the benefit of schools, churches and public works.
Whereas, in India the lottery has come as late as 50s. Till then, it was Derby Lottery that virtually ruled the British colounies only to fill the coffers of British Empire.
Lottery, in India has passed through turbulent phases. The business which had started from the pavement has now reached the posh glass houses. The business is no more cheap, the organisers are no more mediocres and the buyers no more ‘only’ the poors.
In a span of time, sellers have become organisers, so much so that recently, Skippers Builders have also entered into the lottery trade. Credit goes to the lottery trade in which there is a person like Ashwini Khurana of K & Co. who is not only a most successful raffleman but also the highest individual tax-payer in the country.
Ironically, the lottery industries which gives a turnover of over 50,000 crore, still called a handicapped industry. This is the the only industry which runs without any subsidy. Yet it is a gambling industry as the government call it. Says Sanjay Chadha, “Government gets net profit from the lottery industry without putting anything.”
Explaining the problems in the trade, says Rakesh Sharma of J C Enterprises, “Sales tax is imposed by state governments at their own discretion The rate is very high and not uniform. For instance. Andhra Pradesh government imposes 8.5 per cent sales tax. This effects market of tickets in other states.” problem is who should bear the sales tax? Organisers. whose margin is below 0.5 per cent or stockists. whose margin is 1 percent or Agents, who gets between 2 to 3 per cent or the sellers whose profit is 7 to 8 per cent.” argues Mr Sharma. As a matter of fact, the government earns a substantial amounts by means of Income tax. More than 25 crore per month is being contributed by this business  alone.The centre makes about 3000 crore annually from the lottery trade. “This may lead to corruption.” warns Mr Rakesh Sharma therefore one must reduce the prize structure. otherwis the buyer will be harmed and will get lesser prize. States like Madhya Pradesh.West Bengal  Maharashtra. Karnataka had previously imposed sales tax but later on. understanding the impracticability of sales tax they have reduced the tax.
Meanwhile, lottery which had started first, in Orissa by the name of Baramati, reached Sikkim and then rest of the states. There are two systems in state-run lotteries. First, the states who run their own lottery have their own channel. Like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana. Such states have appointed stockists all over India and sell on their own. Other states have their own lottery system, having agents in various states. Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are a few of them.
Whereas, Karnataka sells the tickets through her subsidy-Mysore Sales International a government agency. Rest of the States sell the lottery tickets through their ‘organisers’ - also called as ‘sole selling agents.’ In the last case government gets the net profit.
The exclusivity of the lottery trade is that no private person can run a lottery business. Only, the government, the states and the societies can run this industry. To enter into this business, the private societies get permission from the states and the states get permission from the Central ernment.
However, all is not well in the industry. The progress of the industry is hampered by a few who want to make guide back at the cost of industry’s image. Says Mr Sanjay Chheda of Sanjay Agency, “This is particularly happening in case of a number of private lotteries emanating from Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland etc. on the one hand the details of these lotteries structures are not known through a massive commission and bonuses these lotteries are pushing up their sales in the market and practically cheating a large number of people.” Giving it a reason Mr Sanjay further said, “Government lotteries are held in the presence of the judges. Tickets are printed at security presses under the most vigilant supervision of government officials. Private lotteries on the other hand draw themselves and prizes too are guaranteed by. them and given away by the societies.”
For these and other reasons, England prohibited private (unlicensed) lotteries in 1698 and has not licensed a lottery since 1824. Most states of the United States had outlawed private lotteries by 1850, and no state has licensed a lottery since 1893.
Its now India’s turn to look into the private practices of lotteries and reach to a public-profiting decision.
Undetermined, he pushed on and also printed autis moking campaigns and ‘green’ messages. That is not all Khurana has also banned smoking the company building and has got trees planted to give back to nature some of the woods that are being utilised for making paper used for tickets.
It is a fact that the ultimate consumer is benefited twice by every draw - first by winning a prize and second from the development projects. The whole lottery business is so democratic in character that it is no denying a fact, “Lottery is for the people.”
Other direct beneficiaries from the lottery business are the courier groups and Airlines. Because of the nature of the trade where time factor is supreme. So, services of Airlines become essential to airlift the tickets and allied literature to the markets for timely distribution. Indian Airlines, earns for itself over Rs 1.50 crore per month as freight charges from the lottery material transportation.
Many other industries also gain from the lottery trade. Tons of printing papers required for printing of tickets, posters and other promotional literature are also used which benefit many paper merchants. Printing, also provide employment to many.
Thousand of newspaper columns are consumed every day by the lotteries for promoting their lottery scheme through every nook  and cárner of the country. Quite a few District and State level language newspapers have over the period, improved their financial position by carrying lottery advertisements.
AK ashwani and Doordrshan are the two important media whose marketing potential can  never by ignored by the lotteries. Today, for their support-publicity, lotteries buy hundreds ‘hours of  prime-time from almost all the  relay centres of India. These two media are yet another example of  Government making money form lottery business.
With too many positive with the lottery business, there are certain loop holes in this business too. Says Mr Sanjay Chheda, “One lakh lottery ticket tampered daily. There is big racket working behind it.” He adds,  as the people allege of the duplicacy of the ticket, there is nothing like duplicacy in tickets. Tickets either forged or tampered.”
Sanjay also presented two examples of recently occured tampering of UP lottery tickets-Ganga Kaveri and Rohini Which has been tampered by putting the last digit of the drawn number on another ticket having the  same number but any one digit. Like, the tickets which had been tampered were 624664 and 5244268, The digits that had been tampered were last 4 in the first number and the second 2 of the second one.
However, by and large, according to the opinion of the organisers and agents, lottery business has a very prosperous future. That can  attributed by the fact that big companies are also entering into this trade. May be because it gives the companies the credit of showing big turnover if no greater profit.
Not to give emphasis to the fact that Lotteries are the only industry which run withuto any government subsidy. yet governmeat gets net profit from this business. This handicapped industry gives over all, more than 50,0000 crore turnover, still there is no rule, regulations or Act as such in the Indian Government.
Says Mr S S Marwah of Marwah Agency, “There are more than 20 lakh people who are associated with the lottery business, yet this trade is deprived from being accounted into the category of industry.” “To show people the true and honest picture of lottery and in order to make public aware of the ‘modus operendi’ of the lottery system, government should must releigh it through Doordarshan,” further added Mr. Marwah.