Whereas the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 (Central Act
No. 17 of 1998) by section 11 empowers the Central Government to make rules and
the Central Government has already made the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010
vide Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India's G.S.R No. 278(E) dated New
Delhi, the 1st April, 2010; Whereas section 12(1) of the said Act of 1998 also
empowers the State Government to make rules to carry out the provisions of the
Act and Section 12(2) empowers the State Government, without prejudice to
generality of power under Section 12(1), on specified matters also, namely,
time to be fixed for claiming prize money under clause (f) of section 4 of the
Act, period to be fixed for draws of all lotteries under clause (i) of section
4 and any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed; Whereas it is expedient in the interest of generation of
revenue on behalf of the State Government for supporting social welfare and
developmental activities by running and Regulating Lotteries, both online and
paper in the State of Meghalaya and by and on behalf of State of Meghalaya in
all other States of India; Whereas the Central Rules of 2010 contain some important
and relevant provisions, with reference to an "Organizing State",
which also need to be adopted for proper implementation of the Act; Now, therefore, the Governor of Meghalaya, in exercise of
the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 12 of The Lotteries
(Regulation) Act, 1998 and in supersession of all earlier notifications in this
regard is pleased to make the following rules, namely- (i) These
rules may be called the Meghalaya Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2019. (ii) They shall
come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) "Act"
means the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 (Central Act No. 17 of 1998); (b) "Agreement"
means an agreement in writing, signed by all the parties thereto, laying down
the rights/obligations of each such party and such terms as agreed between the
Government of Meghalaya and the Distributor(s), Selling Agent(s) or Printing
Press or any such person or persons for selling, marketing or Printing of the
Lottery tickets for Meghalaya State Lottery; (c) "bumper
draw of a lottery" means a special draw of lottery conducted on or during
any festival or other special occasion wherein the prize money offered is
greater than the prize money offered in the case of ordinary draw of lotteries; (d) "Central
Rules" means the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010 as notified by the
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi under the GSR 278 (E)
dated 1st April, 2010 and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary,
Part II, Section 3 (i) dated 1st April, 2010; (e) "Central
Computer Server" means a single or group of computer systems at a central
location under the direct control of the Organizing State that accepts,
processes, stores and validates the lottery transactions or otherwise manages,
monitors and controls the entire system of lottery and which shall also include
ticket transactions, prize amount calculation, verification of prize amount and
cancellation of tickets; (f) "Director"
means the Director of Meghalaya State Lottery, Government of Meghalaya, who
shall be an officer, not less than the rank of Joint Secretary to the State
Government, of the State Government of Meghalaya; (g) "Distributor
or Selling Agent" means an individual or a firm or a body corporate or
other legal entity under law so appointed by the Organizing State through an
agreement to market and/or sell lotteries on behalf of the Organizing State; (h) "Draw"
means a method by which the prize winning numbers are drawn for each lottery or
lottery scheme by operating the draw machine or any other mechanical method
based on random technology, which is also visibly transparent to the viewers; (i) "Draw-Break"
means the specified date and time at which the sale of lottery ticket for a
particular draw shall be ceased to be sold prior to the draw for such scheme; (j) "Government"
means the Government of the State of Meghalaya; (k) "Governor"
means the Governor of the State of Meghalaya; (l) "Lottery"
means a scheme in whatever form and by whatever name called, for distribution
of prize by lot or chance to those persons participating in the chances of a
prize by purchasing tickets, which can be run either by the Organizing State or
through Distributor(s) or Selling Agent(s), in the State of Meghalaya and any
other State in India wherever the lotteries are permitted; (m) "Judge"
means such official appointed by the State Government to conduct lottery draws
on a scheduled time; (n) "Network"
means a communication and data exchange system created by physically, or
otherwise, connecting two or more computers with network interface, cards and
cables and running on network operation software; (o) "Online
Lottery" means a system created to permit players to purchase lottery
tickets generated by the computer or online machine at the lottery terminals
where the information about the sale of a ticket and the player's choice of any
particular number or in any form of combination, is simultaneously registered
with the central computer server, which can be run either by the Organizing
State or through Distributor(s) or Selling Agent(s), in the State of Meghalaya
and any other State in India wherever the lotteries are permitted; (p) "Organizing
State" means the State of Meghalaya; (q) "Price"
of a ticket means the maximum retail price fixed by the State Government for a
lottery ticket; (r) "Prize"
means the amount payable against a ticket bearing the winning number of any
specified prize denomination, excluding any deductibles in accordance with
direct and indirect taxation laws of the land; (s) "Retailer"
means the person appointed by the State Government or the Distributor or
Selling Agent for sale of paper and/or online lottery ticket and would mean and
include the Retail Computer terminal being used by such person; (t) "Rules"
means the Meghalaya Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2019; (u) "Sale
Proceeds" mean the amount payable by the Distributor or Selling Agent to
the Organizing State in respect of sale of lottery tickets as determined by the
State Government from time to time. (v) "Scheme"
means Meghalaya State Lottery Scheme (both paper and Online) (w) "Security
Deposit" means a deposit or amount or bank guarantee paid to the
Organizing State by the Distributor or Selling Agent in any form for due
fulfillment of the Agreement, separate from any other payment required to be
made by the Distributor or Selling Agent(s) under these Rules. (x) "Selling
State" means any other states in India wherever the sale of lotteries is
permissible, whether they are organizing lotteries or not. (y) "Tickets"
means Meghalaya State Lottery Ticket (both paper and On line) bearing the
imprint and logo of the State of Meghalaya having facsimile signature of the
Director on it and is released for sale in receipt of any particulars. (z) "Working
Day" means any day which is not a national holiday or a public holiday
declared by the State Government. (aa) Words and
expressions used but not defined herein but defined in the Act shall have the
meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act. All the provisions of the Central Rules shall apply
subject to the following changes- (1) The
expression "Organizing State" in the Central Rules shall be construed
as the "State of Meghalaya" under these Rules. (2) The
expression "Official Gazette" relating to the Organizing State in the
Central Rule shall be construed as the "Meghalaya Gazette" under
these Rules. (3) The
expression "Consolidated Fund of the Organizing State" shall be
construed as the "Consolidated Fund of the State of Meghalaya" under these
Rules. (i) No Lottery
in any form shall be organized by any person/authority in the State of
Meghalaya and/or on behalf of the Government of Meghalaya, except by the State
Government of Meghalaya under the provisions of the Act, Central Rules and
these Rules. (ii) The scope
and purpose of these Rules is to generate revenue on behalf of the State
Government for supporting social welfare and developmental activities by
running and Regulating Lotteries, both online and offline/paper in the State of
Meghalaya and by and on behalf of State of Meghalaya in all other States of the
country. (iii) The
Organization of Lottery under the Act, Central Rules and these Rules in the
State of Meghalaya and for and on behalf of the State of Meghalaya in other
States of the Country shall be exclusively done by the State Government of
Meghalaya. (iv) The State
Government of Meghalaya may organize paper lottery or online lottery or both
subject to the conditions specified in the Act, in the Central Rules, these
rules and any other orders/notifications related to lottery, issued by the
Government of India or the State Government, from time to time. (v) The State
Government of Meghalaya may organize a lottery or lotteries, if it so decides,
by issuing a notification in Meghalaya Gazette, outlining the purpose, scope,
limitation and methods thereof in accordance with these Rules. (vi) The State
of Meghalaya can conduct Lotteries by itself or through one or more
Distributor(s) or Agent(s) appointed under these Rules. (vii) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall sell lottery tickets meant for a particular State
to a distributor located and registered in that State only. (viii) A
distributor located and registered in State selling tickets of another
organizing State shall buy such tickets directly from the organizing State
Government. (ix) It shall
be compulsory for the State Government of Meghalaya to print "FOR SALE
IN ONLY" on each paper lottery ticket. (i) The State
Government may appoint Distributor(s)/Selling Agents usually by way of inviting
Expression of Interest and/or through tender and competitive bidding process.
However, the State Government may, if it may deem fit and proper, adopt any
other method for appointment of Distributor(s)/Selling Agent(s) which is fair,
transparent and objective and in furtherance of the objects of these Rules. (ii) The mode
and manner of tender process or any other such method adopted by the State
Government for appointment of Distributor(s)/Selling Agents shall be decided
and duly published by the State Government from time to time. (iii) Selected
Bidder is then required to enter into Agreement with the State Government
before conducting lottery business on behalf of the State Government under
these Rules, for a period as may be prescribed by the State Government. The following terms and conditions shall be fulfilled by
the Applicant/Participating Entity namely: - (i) The tender
form/documents shall be issued only to Partnership Firms/Proprietorship
concerns/Limited Liability Partnerships/Companies registered under the
Companies Act, 1956 or other legal entity; (ii) Neither
the bidder nor any of its Proprietor/Partner/Director/Member should have been
declared insolvent in the last five years from the date of application; (iii) The
Participating Entity shall have sound financial standing, satisfying the
criteria, as laid down in the tender document. (iv) Those
Participating Entities, or any member thereof, against whom any action has been
taken for violation of any of the provisions of The Lotteries Regulation Act,
1998 and/or the Central Rules framed there under or any of the State Rules made
under Section 12 of the Act, while serving as a distributor or marketing/selling
agent of any organizing state, shall not be eligible for appointment as
Distributor(s)/Selling Agent(s) under these Rules, till the currency of
punishment and/or payment of fine imposed, if any. (v) Any other
terms and conditions as the State Government may deem fit and proper to
specify. No Lottery in any form shall be organized by any
person/authority in the State of Meghalaya and/or on behalf of the Government
of Meghalaya, except by the State Government of Meghalaya under the provisions
of the Act, Central Rules, these Rules and subsequent amendments thereof, if
any. The methods and limitations for conduct of Meghalaya State Lotteries,
On-line and paper shall be as follows: A.
Nomenclature and Form of Lottery: (i) The State Lottery
shall be named as the "Meghalaya State Lotteries" with such other
sub-names as may be decided by the Government/Director from time to time. (ii) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall designate an officer, not below the rank of a
Secretary to the State Government, who shall be responsible for organizing
lottery under these Rules. (iii) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall announce in advance, by way of a notification in
the Meghalaya Gazette, the following information about every lottery, namely: - (a) The name
of the lottery or lottery scheme; (b) Face value
of the lottery ticket; (c) Total
number of tickets printed in case of paper lottery; (d) Gross
value of the tickets printed; (e) Name or
names of the distributors or selling agents with their addresses and contact
information; (f) Prize
structure; (g) The amount
offered as prize money; h. Periodicity of the draw; (h) The place
where the draw shall be conducted; and, (i) The
procedure for drawing the prize winning tickets or prize-winners. (iv) In case
the State Government of Meghalaya decides to organize more than one lottery,
the procedure as provided in sub-rule (iii) shall be followed for each lottery. B.
Printing of Tickets: (i) The form,
size and design of ticket shall be decided by the Director on behalf of the
State Government. (ii) The paper lottery
tickets and the stationery on which the online lottery tickets are issued shall
be printed by the State Government at a Government Press or any other high
security press included in the panel of the Reserve Bank of India or the Indian
Banks' Association, Mumbai. (iii) The
printed tickets for a particular draw shall bear the imprint and logo of the
State Government, distinctive number, the date/time of draw and the sale price
of the ticket and facsimile signature of Director, Meghalaya State Lotteries.
On the reversed side of the tickets, there shall be printed information in
English/Hindi or any Regional language showing prize structure and such other
essential details and conditions as the State Government may consider necessary
for the purchasers. Such terms and conditions which appear on the Lottery
tickets shall be determined by the State Government through the Director. (iv) The
printing of online lottery tickets, as per the approved schemes, shall be done
by the Terminal(s)/Retailers and shall have the imprint logo and facsimile
signature of the Director. Such tickets shall be sold only after updating the
central server with the buyer's selected numbers and other relevant data. C.
Collection and Delivery of Printed tickets: (i) The
Director shall arrange to deliver the tickets on behalf of the State Government
to the Distributor as the case may be at the place mutually agreed upon. (ii) The
Distributor shall lift the lottery tickets within such reasonable period so as
to ensure the conduct of first draw within a period of thirty days from the
date of execution of agreement or any other date fixed by the State Government
in public interest. (iii) The
Distributor shall receive the printed lottery tickets along with its delivery
challan from the Director. The Distributor shall purchase the lottery tickets
from the Government on actual sold basis, and payment will be made by the
Distributor for such tickets actually sold by the Distributor. Unsold tickets,
if any, shall be intimated to the Government before the Draw. Those unsold tickets
as intimated before the draw shall be submitted physically to the Government
periodically, as decided by the Director. (iv) Any defect
or deficiency noticed in the printed tickets should be immediately brought to
the notice of the Director/any other authorized officer of State Government of
Meghalaya. Under no circumstances such defective ticket should be sold. The
purchaser(s) or Distributor, as the case may be, may get rectified tickets in
exchange for the defective tickets without extra payment. The exchange will be
done by the Government/Director on production of the defective/mutilated
tickets by the Distributor/purchaser, as the case may be. (v) In case of
loss of tickets in transit, the same shall immediately be brought to the notice
of the Director for publication in the newspapers. (vi) The
invoice shall be raised on the Distributor for the actual lottery tickets sold
and the amount raised there under for Sales Proceeds (Draw Charges/Printing
Charges/Taxable Prize Money) to the Government. (vii) The
Director shall keep records of the tickets printed, tickets issued for sale,
tickets sold, tickets which remain unsold at the time of the draw, and after
the draw, the prize winning tickets along with the amount of prize or prizes in
respect of each draw, in the manner prescribed by the State Government. D. Sale of
Lottery Tickets: (i) The State
Government or the Distributor or Selling Agent, as the case may be, may appoint
retailers for sale of lottery tickets. (ii) Denomination
of Tickets for the paper and online lottery shall be issued as specified by the
State Government through an order in respect of a draw or group of draws,
however, the minimum sale price of a ticket shall not be less than two rupees. (iii) The ticket
shall be sold to the player on demand. (iv) The
tickets shall be serially numbered. (v) The ticket
shall bear the signature in facsimile of the Director, Government of Meghalaya. (vi) Each
ticket shall be assigned a secret mark or code. Such mark or code may be
changed from ticket to ticket and series to series in any draw. (vii) In On-line
Lottery, a player shall choose his number as per the scheme. (viii) The sale
of lottery ticket shall cease at the prescribed draw-break. (ix) The Online
Lotteries shall be sold through various retailers/terminals connected with the
Central Server, only after entering into written agreement with the
Distributor. (x) A
Central/Mirror Server shall be monitored in the Directorate of Meghalaya State
Lotteries by the Director or under the surveillance of the State IT Department
or through their authorized officer. (xi) The State
Government under whose jurisdiction the Meghalaya State lottery tickets are
being sold shall attract GST at the rates and in the manner as prescribed under
GST Act and Rules as applicable, including any amendments made from time to
time. (xii) The Player
should ensure himself the correctness and genuineness of the paper/online
Lottery ticket, as the case may be, issued by the authorized retailer. Unless
the constituent player brings to the notice of the salesperson or retailer at
the retail counter any discrepancy, errors or omissions etc. immediately before
leaving the retail terminals the matter and numbers printed on the tickets, it
shall be deemed to have been accepted by the player as correct and shall bind
the constituent player for all purposes and intents. E.
Draw and Publication of Result: (i) The State
Government shall conduct the draws through mechanical draw machines or any
other mechanical draw method based on random technology which is transparent to
the viewers of it under the direct control of State Government. (ii) There
shall be minimum 2 (two) judges, appointed by the State Government, for conduct
of Meghalaya State Lotteries with a time table shift-wise in the day to day
operation of the lottery draws. He/she should be at least Class-II Gazetted
officer of State Government or a member from the executive body of any
Government registered NGO. The panel of judges so appointed shall be paid lump
sum remuneration as may be decided by the State Government from time to time. (iii) The number
of lottery draws, except bumper draw, by the State of Meghalaya from all the
lottery schemes put together, shall not be more than twenty-four per day. (iv) No draws
of lottery shall be conducted on any National Holiday, i.e. 26 of January, 15
of August and 2nd of October and on any other day which the State Government
may, by publication in at least 30 days in advance of such date, so decide. (v) Draw to be
held on specific date and time with all necessary information for the
convenience of the subscribers intending to enter in the draw for winning prize
money of a particular draw on purchasing its tickets. (vi) No draw
shall usually be conducted after 10.00 p.m., unless permission is issued for
the same by the Director. (vii) The place
of draw shall be located at Shillong or at any other place within the State of
Meghalaya as decided by the State Government. (viii) No
extension of time for draw of the result shall be granted after marketing the
tickets. (ix) Draw of
results shall be held and conducted by the Director in transparent, free and
fair manner. (x) No
instrument of any kind used in transmission of alpha-numeric message or any
instrument of audio visual display/recording shall be allowed at the draw place
except equipment relating to the live telecast, with prior permission from the
State Government. (xi) The record
relating to draws, shall be kept in the custody of the Director for a maximum
period of three years from the date of publication of the result, after which
it shall be destroyed with the approval of the State Government and the
decision in this regard will be communicated to the Accountant General,
Meghalaya and the Director, Treasuries & Accounts, Meghalaya as well as to
the Administrative Department one month before the date of such destruction. (xii) The State
Government of Meghalaya/Director shall publish the result of the draws in at
least one national and two state level newspapers out of which one shall be in
English as well as in its Official Gazette. In addition to the newspaper
publications the results may be published in other media for the benefit of the
buyers. (xiii) A
certified copy of the results shall be supplied to the representative of the
Distributor by the authorized officer(s) of the Government/Director after the
draw is conducted. (xiv) The
Director shall ensure publication of results of lottery draws in the prescribed
newspapers on daily basis. (xv) The cost
of publication of Result shall be borne by the respective Distributor(s) or
Selling Agent(s). (xvi) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall charge a minimum amount of ` 5 lakhs (Rupees
Five Lakhs) only per draw for bumper draw of lottery and minimum amount
of ` 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) only per draw for all other forms
of lottery. F.
Prize, Claim and Disbursal of Claims: (i) The first
prize in any lottery scheme shall not be less than ten thousand rupees. (ii) Claim
period of prizes shall be 60 days from the date of draw of results. (iii) No forged,
torn, mutilated or tampered ticket shall be entertained for prize claim
payment. However, a partially mutilated ticket with the series and ticket number
remaining intact may be accepted after careful examination of its genuineness. (iv) Subject to
the provisions of these Rules, all claims of taxable prizes shall be submitted
to the Director or any other officers/authorized by the State Government. (v) The prize
claims on taxable amount shall be paid after due verification of prize winning
ticket (PWT) from the concerned Security printing press or central
server/mirror server. (vi) Claim-form
as may be specified by the Department/Director from time to time, duly filled,
along with original prize winning ticket with one photocopy of the same, copy
of PAN Card issued by the Department of Income Tax or a declaration in the
specified Form-16, three copies of passport size photographs of the holder of
the prize winning ticket and an affidavit of ownership of the prize winning
ticket from any Magistrate/Notary/Gazette Officer shall be submitted to the
Director for payment. In absence of the PAN Card or declaration, additional
amount will be deducted as prescribed by the Income Tax Department from time to
time. (vii) The prize
winner for amount above ` 10,000/- shall be required to submit, in
addition to documents prescribed in sub-Rule F.(vi), Bank Account details and
an Affidavit duly attested and signed by the 1st Class Magistrate/Notary
public/Oath Commissioner addressed to the Director, Meghalaya State Lotteries,
Shillong for payment. (viii) The prize
winning tickets up to ` 10,000/- received by the authorized person as
appointed by the distributor or Selling agent, or that of more than ` 10,000/-
directly from the prize winner, will be examined carefully and if it is
prima-facie found not genuine may be sent to the printer of the ticket for
verification of its genuineness and a report to be called for, in such a case,
disbursal of prize money shall be made only after verification of authenticity
of the prize winning ticket. (ix) The entire
prize money shall be paid only in Indian currency. (x) No prize
shall be offered on a lottery ticket or in an online lottery on the basis of
single, double or triple digit in any form or combination. (xi) It shall
be the responsibility of the State Government of Meghalaya, to ensure that
income tax on prizes, wherever applicable, is deducted at source and that, the
prize money after deduction is credited to the bank account(s) of the prize
winner(s). (xii) One ticket
will enable the holder thereof to claim one prize only. (xiii) The State
Government may authorize the Distributor to make the payment of prizes on its
behalf, up to the value of ` 10,000- (Rupees Ten thousand) only to
the prize winners, within a period of 60 (sixty) days from the date of
announcement of the result. The prize money disbursed by the Distributor on
account of payment of such prizes shall be adjusted/set-off against the
disbursable Prize Money. Payment of prizes which is not covered under this
provision will be made by the Director after deduction of Tax Deducted at
Source (TDS). (xiv) Payment of
prizes should be completed within 60 days from the sale of draw failing which
Government reserves the right to make payment of prizes from the security
deposit. (xv) Prizes
that are not claimed by the Prize winners within a period of 60 (sixty) days
from the date of publication of result shall not be disbursed and shall stand
forfeited to the State Government as unclaimed prize money. Provided that the
Director may, in exceptional circumstances, disburse the prize amount to the
prize winners on his/her application even after the expiry of the said period
of 60 (sixty) days but not exceeding 90 (ninety) days if he is satisfied that
the reasons for not claiming the prize amount within the said period of 60
(sixty) days are cogent and genuine. (xvi) In order
to determine the unclaimed or undisbursed prize money, the Distributor shall,
within a period of one month from the expiry of the period of 60 (sixty) days
referred to above, submit the account thereof periodically to the Director,
Meghalaya State Lotteries, as prescribed by the Director or by the Agreement. G. Deposit of
Sale Proceeds: The State Government of Meghalaya shall ensure that sale
proceeds, as received from the distributors or selling agents, are deposited in
the Consolidated Fund of Meghalaya State/Public Ledger Account. H. Schemes
and Change in Schemes: The State Government may release such number of Schemes
and draws in conformity with the Act. All such schemes are liable to be changed
or modified by the State Government keeping in view/according to market
conditions. (i) The
distributors or selling agents shall maintain a record of the tickets obtained
from the State Government of Meghalaya, tickets sold and those which remain
unsold along with other details for a period of 3 (three) years, or as may be
specified by the State Government of Meghalaya. (ii) The
distributors or selling agents shall periodically return the unsold tickets to
the State Government of Meghalaya after each draw. (iii) After due
verification by the officials of the Government of Meghalaya, the unsold
tickets shall be periodically disposed by the Government. In any event of any loss or damage caused to any person
in course of the Lottery Business being conducted under these Rules, the
Distributor(s) or Selling Agent(s) concerned shall indemnify the State
Government for any claim, monetary or otherwise, arising out of any such event. The Organizing State may, within the State, prohibit the
sale of tickets of a lottery organized, conducted or promoted by every other
State. (i) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall conduct an annual financial and systems audit of
the various lottery schemes organized by it, including the online lottery. (ii) The State
Government may appoint any Chartered Accountant or any other persons having
requisite qualifications to conduct an independent audit of all accounts
pertaining to the conduct of State Lottery. (iii) The State
Government may also appoint computer Engineers or experts to conduct audit and
inspection of the computer system network installed by the retailer. Such
person will also be responsible for checking and continuing of tickets being
sold, to detect any computer related errors, mistakes, frauds, misuse of the
system, to prevent data manipulation and such other work assigned to him by the
Director. (iv) The
Central Government may also conduct a special audit of any lottery or lottery
scheme organized by State Government of Meghalaya through the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India or any other agency appointed by the Central
Government for the purpose and take suitable action thereon. (i) All
payments due from a distributor or a selling agent to the Government shall be
made by that distributor or Selling Agent by Demand Draft/RTGS only drawn in
favour of the Director, State Lotteries, Meghalaya on any Nationalized Public
Sector/Scheduled Bank located at Meghalaya. (ii) The
Department shall credit all the amounts so received in the Consolidated Fund of
the State/Public Ledger Account. (iii) The
transactions relating to the payment of Prize money and other miscellaneous
expenses shall be done through Public Ledger Account jointly operated by the
Director and Finance & Account Officer, State Lottery, Government of
Meghalaya. (iv) The
Director shall submit weekly returns of all the transactions relating to the
draw of lotteries of the Government of Meghalaya to the Designated Authority. (i) Save as
provided in these rules, all lotteries conducted by private parties,
associations, firms or other persons without prior permission of the Government
or any Officers authorized in this behalf are illegal and liable to punishment. (ii) Any
private parties, associations, firms or other persons who are found to have
conducted such types of trade as lottery without obtaining prior permission
from the Government or any Officers authorized in this behalf shall be liable
to punishment as provided under Section 294A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Central
Act 45 of 1860). The expenses, if any, incurred by the Government for
realization of payment of Sale Proceeds shall be fully borne by the
Distributor/Selling Agent. The Distributor or Selling Agent shall submit the audited
statement of accounts/records, in the format and time frame as prescribed by
the State Government/Director. The Director shall verify such accounts/records
and also carry out periodical inspection of accounts of the Distributor or
Selling Agent. (i) If a State
Government where the lottery tickets of State Government of Meghalaya or
through its Distributor or Selling Agent are being sold is of the opinion that
the Government of Meghalaya or their Distributors or Selling Agents are
organizing lotteries in violation of the provisions of the Act and these rules,
it shall immediately bring the violations to the notice of the Government of
Meghalaya concerned along with the details of such violations or irregularities
noticed and the Central Government shall also be apprised of such violations or
irregularities simultaneously. (ii) The State
Government of Meghalaya shall send a suitable response on the issues raised by
the Selling State Government under sub-rule (1), within a period of thirty days
of the receipt of such communication. (iii) In case
where the State Government concerned is not satisfied with the response sent by
the State Government of Meghalaya under sub-rule (2) or the State Government of
Meghalaya, does not respond or does not take action to discontinue the
organizing of the said lottery scheme, the State Government concerned, under
whose jurisdiction, the lottery tickets, are being sold, may bring to the
notice of the Central Government with all relevant details of violations or
irregularities and the communications made with the State of Meghalaya, along
with its recommendations on the action to be taken including banning of such
lottery scheme of the State Government of Meghalaya in the geographical limits
of its State. (iv) The
Central Government shall, after giving reasonable opportunity to the State
Government of Meghalaya of being heard either, in writing or in person, take the
final decision whether action is required to be taken against the lottery
scheme of the State Government of Meghalaya under section 6 of the Act. (v) In case
the Central Government decides to prohibit any such lottery scheme, it shall
issue an order under section 6 of the Act prohibiting such lottery and direct
the State Government concerned to give wide publicity through daily newspapers
or electronic media or both about the decision of the Central Government. If any question arises as to the interpretation of these
rules or in regard to any matter not expressly provided for in these rules, the
matter shall be referred to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya
and the interpretation made thereon shall be final and binding on all the
parties. The Government reserves the right to alter/modify and
relax these rules in case of rule being unworkable or causing difficulty in
implementation of these Rules. On and from the commencement of these rules, all the
earlier Rules made by the State Government of Meghalaya including Notification
No. ERTS (SL)6/2017/71-75 dated 29.11.17 issued in pursuance of sub-rule (2) of
Rule 3 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010 shall stand repealed. Notwithstanding such repeal anything done or any action
taken under the Rules so repealed shall be deemed to have been done or taken
under the provision of Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010.MEGHALAYA LOTTERIES (REGULATION)
RULES, 2019
PREAMBLE