No let-up in smuggling of lottery tickets from Kerala to Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Despite strict vigil in border areas, the smuggling of lottery tickets from Kerala to Coimbatore for illegal sales is continuing unabated.The Coimbatore district police seized 37,406 banned lottery tickets worth Rs 14.87 lakh in 2025. In the same year, a total of 691 cases were booked under the Tamil Nadu Lottery Regulation Act, and 723 people involved in selling banned Kerala lottery tickets were arrested by the Coimbatore rural police and Rs 6.04 lakh in cash seized from them. In 2024, police seized 62,791 banned lottery tickets and Rs 2.25 crore in cash. On December 24, 2024, Karumathampatti police searched the house of Nagaraj, 42, at Balaji Nagar in Karumathampatti and seized 1,900 banned Kerala lottery tickets and Rs 2 crore in cash. Of the seized amount, more than Rs 2 lakh was in the denomination of 2,000. Karumathampatti police arrested Nagaraj, who worked as a cashier in a lottery shop at Walayar in Kerala's Palakkad district. Nagaraj sold lottery tickets in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts. Coimbatore district police superintendent of police K Karthikeyan said, "We have categorised illegal lottery ticket sellers as retailers, agents, dealers, and kingpins. Of them, we focus on agents and dealers who deal in large quantities. It does not mean that police will allow retailers to illegally sell lottery." "Since the district is close to Kerala border, many people who frequently travel to Kerala buy tickets and sell them here. Some travel to Kerala for this purpose alone. We conducted two special raids, on December 8 and December 31, 2025, to curb illegal sales. This drive was carried out in all six sub-stations in Coimbatore district. During this operation, 2,663 lottery tickets, Rs 26,000, and 11 mobiles were seized. Sixty cases were filed and 64 people were arrested. We are planning more such drives to curtail lottery sales in Coimbatore," the SP said. A senior police official attached to the Coimbatore district police said the sale of banned lottery tickets is rampant in border areas like Anaikatti and Meenatchipuram, and rural parts like Perur, Peryianaickenpalayam, and Valparai. There were instances where some winners, who were promised prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, did not receive their money. Often, these individuals were reluctant to report the incident to police, as both buying and selling lottery tickets were illegal in Tamil Nadu, he said.