India's first online-only lottery starts in Goa.

India's first online-only lottery starts in Goa.

 People in India can now play a fully online game that is approved by the government.  The ilottery is meant to make a business that is often harmed by claims of fraud or bad management more open.

 The first drawing is scheduled for November 24, and tickets went on sale yesterday.

 The app-based tool was approved by Goa's Directorate of Small Savings and Lotteries, and Rhiti Group was given permission to run it.  Arun Pandey, the founder of the group, told MediaBrief that Great Goa Games will let people play in a "safe and convenient way."  In February 2023, the directorate put out rules for running an online draw.

 "Our mission is to make opportunities available to everyone through technology," he said.

 At the moment, lottery games are legal in 13 states, including Goa, which is known as "Las Vegas of India."  Others have banned them because they are worried about people becoming addicted to gaming, bad management, or corruption.

 India's lottery is a mess
 The head of the government in Goa, Narayan Gad, said that the controlled games will "raise the bar in the lottery business".  The technology-based product will make things clearer and make it easier to keep an eye on and regulate activities.

 But internet sites aren't safe from claims of fraud and manipulation either.

 The technology website MediaNama says that Kerala used to have an online lotto with only one draw a week.  The government shut down the raffles when they realised that more than one were running at the same time.  Kerala became a "online, internet, and computerised lotteries-free zone" after the ban.

 In the same way, police in Maharashtra found proof that government officials and internet lottery operators were working together to hold more than one lottery on the same day.

 The 2015 Supreme Court decision that supported the ban in Kerala said that ticket terminals could be changed.  Players couldn't be sure that their tickets came from a real computer because of this.

 Keeping up with the times
 The non-profit think tank Pahle India Foundation (PIF) said in a 2024 white paper that India's lottery business hasn't kept up with the times because it still uses paper tickets and stores.

 Paper-based lotteries have problems like losing tickets during travel, selling broken or fake tickets, and keeping track of tickets that have been sold, not sold, and tickets that are broken, the paper said.  "Managing a lot of transactions... is a big logistical problem that could lead to corruption and a loss of integrity and compliance."

 India has also been called "the next Silicon Valley" by the World Economic Forum.  PIF said that low-tech gaming apps don't fit with the country's high-tech society.

 Focussing on paper lotteries "means that India's lottery industry doesn't take full advantage of the fact that more people have smartphones and cheap internet."  The industry "has yet to be aligned with [Digital India's] vision to make it more open, efficient, focused on compliance, and safer for players."

 More perks and the chance to make money
 PIF thought that the Indian lottery could bring in $33 billion (£26 billion/€31 billion) a year, with fees that could bring in another $12 billion.

 That's what The Hans India says: The Great Goa Games will stress responsible gaming by giving people training tools that help them play it safe.  "Also, the online lottery will make sure that operations are open and honest, letting players see how the money from the lottery is spent, especially on social projects like healthcare and education."