The State govern ment has reprimanded an authorised lottery agent, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, after it was revealed that the company was con ducting only one lottery draw per day instead of the mandated four. Following the discovery, the agent discontinued the sale of lotteries, cit ing weak market condi tions and poor customer response. Future Gaming and Ho tel Services Pvt Ltd was responsible for marketing and selling the Labhlaxmi lottery across the State. The company regularly paid revenue of Rs 12,000 for the four draws to the government, even though only one draw was con ducted daily, and deposit ed the minimum guaran teed revenue of Rs 5 crore per annum. When contacted, Di rector of Small Savings and Lotteries Dasharath Redkar said, “The agent paid us Rs 12,000 for four draws (Rs 3,000 per draw) each day, even though only one draw was conducted.
The agent also deposited the minimum guaranteed revenue of Rs 5 crore per year. He provided de tails of sold and unsold lottery tickets before the draws.” Redkar added, “When it came to our notice that the agent was conducting only one draw instead of four per day as mandated, an inquiry was conducted and he was questioned. However, the agent wrote to the department stat ing that he was discon tinuing the sale of lottery tickets due to weak mar ket conditions and poor customer response.” He further clarified, “There was no loss to the State exchequer, but the lottery was not properly advertised. We will not invite fresh tenders or ap point a new agent.” Meanwhile, the government has appointed M/s Summit Online Trade Solutions Private Limited to sell the Rajshree 100 Monthly Lottery across four States – Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Sikkim – through area distributor M/s Serenity Trades Private Limited.
