The Bengali government voted this week to wipe out the online lottery business from Calcutta and the rest of Bengal. The crackdown on online lotteries could culminate in a clean-up.
In the last week over fifty per cent of the outlets in Calcutta have been closed down. Over 1,000 machines have been seized and one hundred people have been arrested in connection with the raids.
State finance minister Asim Dasgupta said about 85 per cent of illegal online lottery operations had been stopped. “The crackdown will continue till we have wiped out this menace,” he stressed.
The director of state lotteries lodged 112 complaints with the police on December 20 and 21 against agents, traders and others involved with 11 online lottery companies operating in the state. “None of the lotteries was abiding by the rules prescribed by the government,” Dasgupta stated.
The 11 companies under fire are Playwin, Smartwin, Lotto, Super Lotto, Smart Lotto, V1, Dhandhanadhan, Technost, Sunshine, Classic ON-line and Lotus.
The Bengali government voted this week to wipe out the online lottery business from Calcutta and the rest of Bengal. The crackdown on online lotteries could culminate in a clean-up.