Centre bans Sikkim lottery sales in Kerala State indefinitely

Gangtok : The sale of Sikkim Lottery in Kerala has been banned indefinitely by the central government. The Centre, which had imposed a two-year ban earlier on the lottery, has now extended the ban indefinitely until further orders. The move backs arguments of the state government, which had said that sale of the lottery should be banned till all cases against the lottery are settled. The recent order is based on the finding that the Sikkim government had not adhered to the 2010 lottery law amendments. A petition filed by Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming Solutions, seeking to revoke the ban, was rejected by the central Home ministry. The ban is a setback to Martin and his associates, who had allegedly planned to loot the state in the name of lotteries.