Date:28/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/28/stories/2005072800331900.htm

Back Kerala HC upholds State ban on online lotteries

K.C. Gopakumar

Kochi , July 27

THE Kerala High Court on Wednesday upheld the State Government action in prohibiting the sale of online lotteries.

Mr Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair upheld the ban order while dismissing a writ petition filed by the State of Sikkim and agents of online lotteries.

According to the petitioners, the Government had no power to ban online lotteries. The State Government could issue a ban order only when the State was declared totally lottery free zone as otherwise it would offend Section 5 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, it was argued.

Countering the arguments, the State Government said though by an order issued in April 22, it had lifted the ban on sale of paper lotteries in the State, it banned online lotteries because several irregularities were found committed by organisers of online lotteries.

Dismissing the petition, the judge said the claim of the petitioners that they were doing perfectly good business could not be accepted. Everyone who had something to do with the computers knew that manipulations could be done in the printing of online lotteries.

The customers could not know whether the lotteries were printed at the terminal based on the command given from the central servers or not.

The Government of Sikkim had no control over the thousand of such terminals set up all over the country. The court also pointed out that going by the provisions of the Act, sale of tickets of a particular lottery could be prohibited, provided the State Government concerned was not running the same lottery.

The court also added that if the Government took a decision in public interest to ban online lotteries, the court should not interfere with the decision unless there were compelling grounds.