By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 10: The state government on Tuesday launched EasyLottery, India’s first fully digital lottery, at a function in New Delhi.
The website easylottery.in also went live on the occasion. The first draw will be held on November 10 with a grand first prize of Rs 50 crore. The lottery tickets are priced at Rs 5,000 each. As many as 2.6 lakh tickets will go on sale for the first draw.
EasyLottery promises to be a game changer in terms of giving a seamless and transparent lottery experience; right from buying tickets to prize money disbursals.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma lauded the endeavours being made towards bringing in more transparency and professionalism to the lottery sector by giving it an end-to-end digital touch. He also noted that as lottery is purely a game of chance, a transparent digital option such as EasyLottery allows individuals and society to benefit.
According to him, EasyLottery is designed to make and not break. “When you win a prize, you are able to benefit from it and if you lose, the taxes paid on it are sown back into society and the country benefits,” he said.
Director of Meghalaya State Lottery, MSN Marak, said, “Despite having a population as large as ours and being one of the most digitally empowered countries in the world, India has had a pronounced gap in its lottery sector until now. With the launch of EasyLottery, we are trying to bridge this gap.”
“Our ticket sales, prize payments and tax payments will be done digitally. Only the lottery draw itself will be conducted using the most trusted and transparent methodology, which is the motorised method where the machine cannot be manipulated and therefore the draw outcomes are purely based on chance,” he added.
Commissioner & Secretary of ERTS, Pravin Bakshi added, “This innovative platform will revolutionise the way lottery is played in India, and will also eliminate any kind of scam or money laundering that is associated with the lottery sector. EasyLottery will put the society and its people first, without compromising on the fun element for lottery enthusiasts and the benefits for the government.”