Beware! Illegal Kerala lottery sales rampant on Instagram

KOCHI: Dreaming of winning crores of rupees, there are many from outside Kerala who buy lottery through Instagram and lose money. With the popularity of Instagram, illegal online lottery vendors flocked there from Facebook. Malayalis are also active in the online lottery business dominated by Tamil Nadu gangs.

A photo of the lottery ticket will be sent to the payers. The same ticket is sold to many people. If the tickets get the prize, these scammers will block the person who bought it. Most of the victims of fraud are from neighboring states. Tickets are promised to be sent by courier or post, but this never happens. The Lottery Department will not give the prize if the photo of the ticket is shown. Bumper tickets were sold earlier, but now daily tickets are available as a set or separately on Instagram. A set of 12 tickets with the last four digits matching is priced at Rs 450. These tickets are priced at Rs 40 each.

The Lottery Department has warned many times against such transactions, including in foreign languages, but to no avail. An advertisement has been placed on the official website and Facebook pages of the lottery department to prevent online sales. The only thing happening now is blocking Instagram accounts with the help of the police. Central agencies have started investigating illegal online lottery sales. The police have also registered a case on the complaint of the lottery department.