Irregularities in lotteries hurts state coffers

Sunday 2nd of April 2017

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has uncovered a massive loss in revenue for the Nagaland state government due to irregularities in the conduct of Nagaland State lotteries, local media reports.

The report for Nagaland State for the year ended March 31, 2016 in particular pointed to small revenues generated by the government from lotteries.

It found irregularities in the selection of distributors which led to litigation in a court case and the suspension of the draw for 13 months, according to Morung Express.

According to the report, the distributors made “huge profit” from the sale of state lotteries, whereas the revenue of the state government was in the form of (Minimum Guaranteed Revenue) MGR only.

Out of the total sales of Rs 176.5 billion from the 2010-16 period, distributors only deposited Rs 569.3 million to the state, said the report.

The CAG report recommended the state government re-tender for the selection of distributors and for allocating the job of conducting lotteries as per the Act and Rules.

It also advised that the entire sale proceeds calculated on face value be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of the State without any deduction and the unclaimed prize money be deposited to the Government Accounts in time.

Further, it advised that the central server should be under the direct control of the state government and the activities of online lotteries should be effectively monitored.

Lottery Investigation Tax Report Revenue