The Kerala government has raised the first prize of the Thiruvonam Bumper lottery operated by the State Lotteries department to ₹25 crore. Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal launched the 2022 edition of the Thiruvonam Bumper lottery, which comes in 10 series, at a function here on Friday.
This is the heftiest prize money in the history of the State Lotteries. The ticket is priced at ₹500. Last year, the first prize stood at ₹12 crore.
The second prize carries ₹5 crore, and the third prize ₹1 crore each to 10 winners. The fourth prize carries ₹1 lakh each for 90 winners. The fifth is ₹5,000 each to 72,000 winners. In addition, the Thiruvonam Bumper also promises 48,600 prizes worth ₹3,000, and 66,600 prizes worth ₹2,000. The tickets will be available to the public from July 18.
The lottery ticket has added security features to prevent fraud. It is also the first lottery ticket to be printed using fluorescent ink.
A maximum of 90 lakh tickets can be printed this year for the Thiruvonam Bumper as per the decision taken by the government. All 54 lakh tickets that were printed last year for the same lottery were sold out.
Mr. Balagopal said the credibility and reliability of the Kerala Lotteries have made it popular among the public. Transport Minister Antony Raju, who presided, said the prizes have been structured in such a way that 5% of the people who buy a ticket stand to win a prize.
It was in 1967 that the Kerala government established a department for the conduct of paper lotteries. The very first lottery ticket cost ₹1 and carried a first prize of ₹50,000. The first draw was held on January 26, 1968. In 1973, the Onam bumper offered ₹5 lakh as the first prize and ₹1 lakh as the second prize and carried a total prize amount of ‘‘above ₹15 lakh.”
