Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has said Kerala Lottery
schemes would be reformed in October to make them competitive in the changed
circumstances.The Finance Minister has asked Lotteries Director Biju Prabhakar
to submit the Department's proposal at the earliest. In the wake of the August
30 High Court order, the State lotteries have limited its operations to just
one draw a week.
Except for Win Win, all other draws such as Periyar, Car
Plus, Sun Fun and Kairali have been withdrawn. Henceforth, Win Win will be the
only Kerala lottery in circulation.
However, the Minister felt a single scheme could make Kerala
lottery unattractive. The Lotteries Director then suggested the introduction of
a series of new schemes.
The highest Win Win prize is `40 lakh and `50lakh worth of
gold sovereigns.
The Department's plan is to have a new lottery scheme, with
varying price structures, for all the 52 weekly draws.
The Finance Minister, who had called a highlevel meeting of
sales tax and lottery officials, said Bhutan
or Sikkim or
any other states had not submitted any application for the acceptance of
advance tax for their new draws.
Though the High Court had directed the State to accept
advance tax, Isaac said that the state would seek the advice of the
AdvocateGeneral on the issue of raising the tax.
Isaac said the state was also trying to evolve legal
measures to prevent other state lottery promoters from monopolising the market.
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