Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala lottery department has witnessed a significant boost in Onam Bumper ticket sales, offering relief despite concerns over the upcoming GST hike. Since its launch in July, 47 lakh tickets have already been sold. The lucky draw is scheduled for September 27.

Compared to last year, this year’s Onam Bumper has seen a much larger number of takers. Last year’s total sales stood at 71,43,008 tickets, while two weeks before the draw, only 36 lakh had been sold. Reports indicate that nearly half of last year’s total sales took place in the final two weeks before the draw.

Lottery agents now expect this year’s sales to either match or surpass those figures. If that happens, the target of 90 lakh tickets will be met, setting a fresh record for bumper sales.

The Onam Bumper’s first prize is ₹25 crore, with each ticket priced at ₹500. Altogether, the prize pool amounts to ₹140 crore.

Last year, 80 lakh tickets were printed, of which 8.5 lakh went unsold. In 2023, 85 lakh tickets were issued, with 75,76,096 sold. In 2022, 67.5 lakh tickets were issued, of which 66.55 lakh were sold. This year marks the fourth edition of the Onam Bumper since the first prize was raised to ₹25 crore.

Meanwhile, GST on lottery tickets is set to rise from 28% to 40% within days. Finance Minister KN Balagopal has assured that ticket prices will remain unchanged, though he hinted that adjustments to the prize structure may be required. Agents fear such changes could affect future sales.