Opinion Kerala lotteries

However,we have distinguished between betting and gambling and lotteries.

Entry 40 on the Union List is clear,it mentions lotteries organized by the government of India or the government of any state.

Therefore,Union laws override state powers and we do have a Central Lotteries Regulation Act of 1998. Section 5 of this statute states the following. “A state government may,within the state,prohibit the sale of tickets of a lottery organised,conducted or promoted by every other State.”

However,Section 11(1) of the law also authorises the Central government to formulate rules. The reasons for delay are not clear.

But these rules surfaced only in 2010 and were notified by the Home Affairs Ministry. Why should it take 12 years for rules to be announced?

These rules mention an Organising State (OS) and a state where tickets for a lottery run by an OS are sold. What’s interesting is that these rules completely take away powers a state government possesses on prohibiting sales of lottery tickets by some other State.

For instance,Section 5(1) of the Rules states,“If a state government is of the opinion that the Organising State or their distributors or selling agents are organizing lotteries in violation of the provisions of the Act and these rules,it shall immediately bring the violations to the notice of the Organising State along with the details of such violations or irregularities noticed and the central government shall also be apprised of such violations or irregularities simultaneously.”

Without more quotes,the power of prohibition moves to the Centre. And these Rules also lay down how much state governments can charge as “tax”. It is for lawyers and judges to decide how rules can negate powers that an original statute confers.

The Kerala lottery case has several dimensions,including the press on which tickets are printed,but the crucial one is power of state government vis-à-vis that of the Centre. For instance,between 1998 and 2010,there were the Kerala State Lotteries (Regulation) Repeal Rules of 2005 and these made Kerala a lottery free zone,prohibiting sales of lottery tickets,not only by other state governments,but also by Kerala itself.

To complicate matters,we have lotteries by Bhutan and Sikkim. While Sikkim is an Indian State,Bhutan is not. However,there is a 1985 bilateral agreement that allows Bhutan to sell lottery tickets in India. Allegations of scams apart,there are quite a few legal issues.