CHENNAI, November 5: The Tamil Nadu Government has decided to ban the sale of lotteries of other States in TN with effect from Jan 1, 1998. Stringent legal action would be taken against those selling single-digit lotteries which have been banned by the Centre. It was also decided that to boost sales of TN raffles, the prize schemes would be made more attractive.

These decisions were taken at the cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat on Tuesday chaired by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. Talking to mediapersons, the CM said the ban decision was taken to increase profit from the raffles of the State, besides plugging Rs 3,000-cr revenue loss by way of sales of other States' lotteries. The ban would potentially bring in Rs 100-cr for the State. To another question on why the DMK Government, which was the first one to ban `horse-race betting' in seventies was now encouraging lotteries even as the raffles were ruining families, the CM retorted, ``Why such questions are not asked when other State lottery tickets are allowed to be sold? Why are you raising it now when the Government expects to earn Rs 100 crore by banning sales of other lotteries?''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.