The Nagaland state government’s Dear Lottery outlet at 4th Mile, which opened on June 16. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 16
Nagaland state’s Dear Lottery brand opened another retail outlet on June 16 after its initial launch on June 12 in Dimapur. The outlet was opened at 4th Mile near the Central Jail.
Subbayan Nagaraj, CEO of Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited (FGHSPL), the 4th Mile outlet was the first for Chümoukedima district. FGHSPL is the distributor for Nagaland State Lotteries. Nagaraj informed that outlets have also been opened in Mokokchung, Kohima, Wokha and would gradually expand to other districts.
According to him, public response to the paper lottery has been satisfactory. Good sales imply better revenue prospects for the state government, he said, while informing that over and above GST, the company has a royalty agreement with the state government.
Broadly explaining how the revenue aspect of the business works, he said that roughly 58 percent of the gross sales go towards the prize winning tickets, 28 percent as GST and 10 percent as commission to stockists and retail vendors. A fixed royalty of 2 percent of the total tickets printed would go to the state government, he added.
Subbayan Nagaraj, CEO of FGHSPL, informed that Dear Lottery features an array of weekly, bi-monthly lotteries, besides special ‘Festival Bumpers’ with a winning prize of upto Rs 2.5 crore. The weekly lottery draws take place three times a day at 1:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 8:00 pm, offering participants a chance to win a variety of prizes with the first prize amounting to Rs. 1 cr and consolation prizes. According to Nagaraj, the drawing of the lottery is streamed live on YouTube.
The lottery is popular in several states around the country with West Bengal as the biggest market. As per the company’s website, it is one of the country’s “prompt tax payers.” “Future Gaming has paid more than 6,000 Crores as GST in the state of West Bengal alone, since July 2017,” it said.
