By Rajnish Singh
Alipurduar (West Bengal), [India], April 17 : As West Bengal heads toward a crucial Assembly election, voices from the ground are growing louder against the state's lottery system, with people from Alipurduar's Falakata constituency demanding a complete shutdown, calling the system exploitative and harmful to the poor.
Residents of Falakata assembly constituency in Alipurduar district, ranging from sellers to buyers and general citizens, have expressed deep concern over what they describe as a cycle of loss, addiction, and economic distress.
For many like Virendra Sarkar, a lottery seller, the business offers little stability.
Selling tickets worth Rs 800-900 daily, Sarkar says profits are uncertain and depend entirely on whether a ticket wins a prize. "There is hardly any real benefit. Most days, there is nothing to gain," he said, highlighting how the trade largely attracts economically vulnerable individuals with limited employment options. Buyers, too. "
Deepak, a local resident, described the system as self-defeating, where even sellers end up becoming the biggest buyers.
He recounted how his elder brother lost nearly Rs 1 lakh within a month of opening a lottery shop due to unsold tickets. "If lotteries are shut down, nothing could be better. Poor people will be able to live better lives," Deepak said, adding that many continue to spend money on tickets despite struggling to meet basic needs.
Concerns over social impact are even more alarming as Shankar Majumdar, another resident, claimed that the lottery system has pushed several individuals into debt and despair.
Majumdar alleged that in his village, young men have taken loans at high interest rates to buy tickets, only to lose everything.
"Some couldn't bear the pressure and even took their own lives," he said, urging the government to intervene.
A similar sentiment was echoed by Vikramaditya, who termed the lottery system "fundamentally flawed."
According to him, both buyers and sellers incur losses due to the mismatch between the number of tickets sold and the limited winning opportunities. "There is only one big prize, but lakhs of people lose money. It is a loss-making system for everyone," Vikramaditya said.
While criticism of the system is widespread, there is also concern about the livelihood of those dependent on it.
Vikramaditya emphasised the need for a transition plan and said, "If the system is shut down, the government must provide alternative employment. Many families depend on this for survival."
He requested ruling TMC government and all political parties, including the Congress, the BJP, and the Left, include this issue in their election agenda.
Several long-term lottery buyers shared personal accounts of financial loss and addiction.
Asith Debnath, a truck driver, revealed that he has spent Rs 4-5 lakh on lottery tickets over the past few years but recovered only a fraction of that amount. "We keep hoping to win big, but it's nothing but gambling," he admitted.
Hare Krishna Das, a 30-year lottery participant, described the habit as "addictive". Despite spending Rs 8-9 lakh over three decades, he estimates his total returns at just Rs 4-5 lakh. "People can't even sleep without buying tickets. It has become a habit that drains money every month," Das said.
With elections approaching, residents are now urging political parties to take a clear standnot just on banning the system, but on ensuring economic alternatives for those whose livelihoods depend on it.
The issue, once seen as a matter of individual choice, is now shaping up to be a broader socio-economic concernone that voters say cannot be ignored any longer.
Virendra Sarkar, a resident of Falakata town who sells lottery, told ANI, "I sell around Rs 800-900 lottery tickets in a day. There is hardly any real benefit. Profit only comes when someone wins a prize; otherwise, there is nothing."
"Lotteries come in different series5 series, 10 series, 30 series, 50 series, 100 series, and even 200 series. The bigger the series, the higher the prize. For example, if there are five tickets, it amounts to around Rs 600; for 10 series, it goes up to around Rs 1,000; similarly, Rs 250 and Rs 500 tickets can add up to Rs 2,500 in total. It's difficult to say whether buying a lottery is beneficial or not because it all depends on luck."
"Generally, well-off people don't engage in this business. It is mostly ordinary people, especially those without stable work, who get involved in selling or dealing in lotteries," he added.
Deepak, a resident of Falakata town, said, "What should I even say about lotteries? The less I say, the better. People like us buy one or two tickets, but the biggest customer of the lottery is actually the shopkeeper himself. My elder brother lost Rs 1 lakh within a month after opening a lottery shop. If tickets don't sell, the shopkeeper has to buy them himself. And if the ticket doesn't win a prize, he ends up facing losses. If there are no winnings, people can become destitute buying these tickets. This is the situation across West Bengal."
"If lotteries are shut down, nothing could be better than that. If lotteries are banned, poor people could live much better lives. People buy lottery tickets even when they don't have enough food at home. They buy them hoping they might win a large amount of money and own big houses one day. But chasing this hope, they keep buying tickets and eventually become penniless," he added.
Shankar Majumdar, another resident of Falakata constituency, said, "The lottery system should not exist at all. I have seen in my village that many young men can no longer even step out of their homes because they took loans with interest to buy lottery tickets, and all their money was lost. I have personally witnessed this. The West Bengal government should take note of this and completely shut it down."
"I know two or three boys who even committed suicide. What could they do? They had taken so much money on interest. When they didn't win the lottery, they were left with nothing. Rickshaw pullers and e-rickshaw (toto) drivers earn Rs 200-250 a day, yet they spend Rs 100-150 on lottery tickets. What will they feed their children then? Out of ten lakh people, only one wins a prize, and everyone else loses their money. It is mostly poor people who are involved in buying lotteries; the rich and middle class generally don't buy them. We have raised our voice demanding that lotteries be banned. This is nothing but exploitation. Money is being taken from the poor and going into the hands of wealthy people. The poor don't understand this," he added
Vikramaditya, a resident of the Falakata area in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, told ANI, "The lottery system is very flawed because both the seller and the buyer end up at a loss. There is only one big prize of Rs 1 crore, but the number of tickets sold is far higher than the number of winning results. So people inevitably incur losses. Overall, it is a loss for everyone."
He further said that the "lottery sellers themselves lose around Rs 100-150 a day because they have to bear the cost of unsold tickets. Daily wage labourers earn about Rs 300-400 a day, and they spend Rs 100-150 on lottery tickets. Sometimes they may win Rs 600 or even Rs 1,200, but that doesn't happen regularly, so they mostly incur losses."
"Our only request to whichever party forms the government after the elections is to shut this system down and provide alternative employment for those who sell lottery tickets. A large number of people are dependent on this business for their livelihood, and if it is shut down abruptly, it will have serious consequences. The government should arrange some substitute. We are saying this to everyonethe ruling party, and opposition parties Congress, BJP, and the Leftthat there should be a clear agenda to find an alternative to lottery tickets, because this is not a real employment solution. People should be able to take their hard-earned money home, but instead it gets wasted. In many households, people buy lottery tickets and only end up losing money," he added.
He said, "There seems to be something going on behind the scenessomeone is definitely making crores in profit."
Asith Debnath, a truck driver who purchased a lottery ticket just beforecontacted him.
"I have been buying lottery tickets for the past three to four years. So far, I have purchased lottery tickets worth around Rs 4-5 lakh, and I have earned roughly Rs 1-1.5 lakh. We keep thinking that if we win Rs 1 crore, it will help us start something useful. That's why we keep buying lottery tickets. It is nothing but gambling. If it weren't, we wouldn't buy it. The lottery should be shut down. Many people have suffered losses. Many have committed suicide due to this stress. Many people have taken loans to buy lottery tickets, and when they didn't win, they were ruined," Asith Debnath said.
Hare Krishna Das, another resident of the Falakata area, said, "I did benefit earlier, but for the past eight months I haven't received anything at all. I have been buying lottery tickets for the last 30 years. In these 30 years, I have spent around Rs 8-9 lakh on lotteries. In total, I have received about Rs 4-5 lakh, but in the end, everything is gone and I have suffered a loss of around Rs 4 lakh."
"Buying lottery tickets has become an addiction for people. If they don't buy them, they can't even sleep. People spend around Rs 3,000-3,500 a month on lotteries, and sometimes even Rs 5,000-6,000 in a month, yet not a single rupee comes back," he added.
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