Sixteen first prize-winning lottery tickets were not produced on time by the winners to claim their prizes during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscals, according to a reply given by Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal in the State Assembly recently.
The prize-winning tickets belonged to various lotteries operated by the State Lotteries department whose draws were held in the two financial years.
In all other cases and in instances where the claims were taken to court or other forums following disputes, the prize money was disbursed on time, the Minister said in a written reply to a question on July 7.
The revenue from lottery sales also shows a huge variation in these two fiscals when the State was battling the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to data presented by Mr. Balagopal, in 2020-21, the State government's revenue from lottery sales stood at ₹4,910.83 crore and in 2021-22, ₹7,144.54 crore. In these years, the government spent ₹2,761.27 crore and ₹4,079.28 crore on the prizes.
