Lottery Legal States in India: Which States Have a State Lottery?

Bhagya Desk Results TeamPublished 4 Oct 2026

We verified 10 Indian states that run a state lottery today. They are Kerala, Punjab, Goa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Each one is confirmed on the state government’s own lottery page. The often-quoted “13 states” comes from a 2017 news report.

Which Indian states run a state lottery?

The states with a state lottery confirmed on an official government page are these 10. Each state runs its lottery under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998. The table names the official body and one fact from its own page.

State	Official lottery body	Fact from the official page
Kerala	Directorate of State Lotteries, Thiruvananthapuram	Department started on 1 September 1967, the first in India; paper tickets only
West Bengal	Directorate of State Lotteries, Finance (Revenue) Department	Set up in 1968; seven weekly draws since 14.05.2018, plus six festival bumpers
Nagaland	Directorate of Nagaland State Lotteries, Finance Department	Set up in 1972; draws run through a distributor appointed by the Government
Goa	Directorate of Small Savings and Lotteries	Directorate of State Lotteries created on 23 February 1995; merged on 1 April 2006
Sikkim	Directorate of State Lotteries, Finance Department	24 lotteries: 8 paper and 16 online, sold through 3 marketing agents
Punjab	Punjab State Lotteries	Punjab State Dear Rakhi Bumper 2026 drawn on 29 August 2026 at Ludhiana
Maharashtra	Directorate of Maharashtra State Lotteries, Mumbai	Listed under the State Finance Department
Mizoram	Institutional Finance and State Lottery	Paper and online lottery results published; Mizoram Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2019
Meghalaya	Directorate of Meghalaya State Lottery, Excise, Registration, Taxation and Stamps Department	Weekly draw notified on 23 August 2023, at ₹10 a ticket
Arunachal Pradesh	Government of Arunachal Pradesh	Lottery notices and results in the Extraordinary Gazette, 2024

The list counts states whose own government pages show a running lottery. It does not rank them. It gives no other-state results.

Which of these states sell online lotteries?

Sikkim and Mizoram run online lotteries alongside paper ones, according to their official pages. Sikkim lists 16 online lotteries. Mizoram publishes results for paper and online draws.

Kerala runs paper lotteries only. The Directorate’s FAQ says online lottery was banned in Kerala by an order of 13 January 2005. Rule 3(1) of the central Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010 lets each state choose paper, online or both.

Where does the “13 states” figure come from?

The “13 states” figure comes from an India Today report published in 2017. It named Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram.

Ten of the 13 match our verified list. For 3 states we found no current official page showing a running state lottery.

Madhya Pradesh: no official page for a running state lottery found.
Assam: a 2024 district order prohibits unauthorised lotteries; no state lottery page found.
Manipur: an older control Act exists on India Code; no official lottery page found.

These 3 states are left out until an official source confirms a running lottery. The list on this page is checked against each government’s own website.

Why do some Indian states have no state lottery?

Each state decides for itself, because the 1998 Act makes a lottery a state choice. Section 4 allows a lottery but does not require one. A state that runs none simply notifies no lottery.

Section 5 goes one step further. It lets a state prohibit the sale of other states’ lottery tickets inside its territory. Kerala’s own rules call such places lottery-free zones.

Section 3 bans every state lottery that falls outside Section 4. Section 7 punishes agents, sellers and buyers of an illegal lottery. The penalty is up to 2 years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine, or both.

What do the central rules require of every state lottery?

Every state lottery follows the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010. The rules set common limits that apply in all 10 states.

A Gazette notice of each lottery’s price, tickets, prizes and draw method.
No more than 24 draws a day per state, bumpers excluded.
No draw on a National Holiday.
No prize based on a single, double or triple digit.
Results in at least 1 national and 2 state newspapers and the state Gazette.

Can people in other states buy a Kerala lottery ticket?

Only in person, inside Kerala. Kerala tickets are sold only by authorised agents and sellers in Kerala. The Directorate’s FAQ says no agent sells Kerala tickets outside the state, directly or indirectly.

A visitor who buys a genuine ticket in Kerala claims a prize like a resident. Rule 9 of the amended Kerala Rules adds a notarised affidavit for winners from outside Kerala. Any website or app selling Kerala tickets online is not authorised.

Kerala’s daily draw and the latest winning numbers are on the Kerala lottery result today page.

State lotteries in India questions

How many state lotteries are there in India?

We verified 10 states with a running state lottery on official government pages. A 2017 India Today report listed 13 states.

Which state started the first state lottery in India?

Kerala. Its Department of State Lotteries started on 1 September 1967, the first in India.

Which law allows state lotteries in India?

The Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998. Section 4 lets a State Government run a lottery on 11 conditions.

Which states sell online lotteries?

Sikkim and Mizoram, according to their official pages. Sikkim lists 16 online lotteries and 8 paper lotteries.

Why is the 13 states list different from this list?

For Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Manipur we found no official page showing a running state lottery today.

Which state lottery is best in India?

No official body ranks state lotteries. Each runs its own prizes and draws under the same 1998 Act.

Who runs the West Bengal State Lottery?

The Directorate of State Lotteries under the Finance (Revenue) Department. It was set up in 1968.

Who runs the Nagaland State Lottery?

The Directorate of Nagaland State Lotteries under the Finance Department. It was set up in 1972.

Can a state ban other states' lottery tickets?

Yes. Section 5 of the 1998 Act lets a state prohibit the sale of other states’ tickets in its territory.

Is lottery legal in every Indian state?

No. Only a lottery run by a State Government under Section 4 is legal. It is legal only where its sale is allowed.

Is the Kerala lottery legal in India?

Yes. The Government of Kerala runs it under the 1998 Act and sells it only inside Kerala.

Can I buy a Kerala lottery ticket from another state?

No. Kerala tickets are sold only by authorised agents and sellers in Kerala, with no online sale.

Is buying a ticket of an unauthorised lottery an offence?

Yes. Section 7(3) of the 1998 Act punishes anyone who buys a ticket of an illegal lottery.

Does Kerala sell online lottery tickets?

No. Online lottery was banned in Kerala by G.O.(P) No. 4/2005/TD of 13 January 2005.

Related guides

Sources: official lottery pages of the governments of Kerala, West Bengal, Nagaland, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh (checked 4 October 2026); Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 and Rules 2010; India Today (2017). Unofficial site.