Just a glance at myplaywin.com reveals immediately what Playwin Lotto is all about—making big money. As one of few domestically licensed gambling sites in India, the lottery web site offers players the opportunity to win jackpots ranging from 2.00 Lakhs to 2.14 Crores. In this article I’ll cover information about lotto, gambling in India, Playwin founders and the many features of this legal Indian gambling site.
Lotto, of course, is a game of chance that has been around since the 18th century. Players wager on a certain selection of numbers being chosen at random. The jackpot accumulates until the result is correctly predicted by one or more of the players, and then winners share in the prize pool.
By the close of fiscal 2010, Playwin had announced 72 crorepatis (millionaires) and over 3,200 lakhpatis from all over India, placing its lottery games among the most successful forms of gaming in the country. It is not only a major contributor to the government revenues of Sikkim, the state where Playwin is licensed, but also the primary reason that lotteries are now widely accepted by all socio-economic classes in India today.
Other Online Lottery Options – Keno
Along with playwin lotto, a lot of players enjoy the instant action offered by www.royalpanda.com who offers lottery games such as Keno and others that offer huge payouts. In addition to lottery, a wide selection of bingo games are offered at sites like Royal Panda. The sign-up bonuses offered by online gaming companies tend to attract new players, but the excitement found at reputable online casinos keeps them coming back.
Unique among Legal Gambling Activities in India
Live casino gambling (in-person) is heavily restricted in India. Only two states allow casino gambling, Goa and Sikkim. Currently, those who wish to play table games or slots legally have just over a dozen choices—one land-based casino in Sikkim and seven in Goa, plus five floating casinos on the Mandovi River. Although gaming opportunities are strictly limited to bricks and mortar facilities an estimated 1.35 trillion Rupees (about US$30 billion) is spent each year on casino-type gambling in India.
One legal alternative to live casino gambling is betting on horse racing. Racecourses are well established in seven locations: Bangalore, Mysore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi. Betting is permitted on the Tote as well as with independent bookmakers operating track-side. Telephone betting, smart card wagering and Internet betting are not permitted, but off-course, inter-track betting centres with live race coverage do accept bets over the counter. Legal Tote wagering is estimated at about 2 billion Rupees (US$45 million) annually, and a similar amount is wagered with licensed bookmakers.
Online gambling is still in its infancy in India. Most Indians wager offshore with UK and European companies; a company that accepts rupee deposits, pays out to Indian bank accounts and allows players to register with an India home address. Other offshore companies popular include Betfair, Betway, and Royal Panda. When it comes to domestic licensing, only the state of Sikkim offers online gambling licenses, including three recently announced sports betting licenses yet to be awarded and the officially sanctioned online lottery—Playwin—the only one of its kind in the country. Exclusively operated by Pan India Network Ltd., Playwin Lotto Games accept bets from players nationwide, making Playwin unique among India’s otherwise localized legal gaming activities and worth more than 50 billion (US$1.12 billion) in annual revenues.
Operated by a Solid Indian Enterprise
Pan India Network Ltd. is part of the Essel Group, one of India’s most prominent business houses. Its diverse portfolio of assets is worth some 108 billion Rupees ($2.4 billion), covering operations in packaging, media, entertainment, technology-enabled services, infrastructure development and education, as well as Sikkim’s online lottery.
The Group has been in business since 1976, starting out as commodity trading and export firm called Rama Associates Limited. It has since grown into a conglomerate that symbolizes the power and ingenuity of Indian entrepreneurship, now featuring a workforce of some 8,000 employees worldwide.
Headquarters in Mumbai as a division of the Essel Group, Pan India Network Ltd. provides all the infrastructure, data communication, marketing support and services required to facilitate a secure lottery network. Since the launch of the original Sikkim Super Lotto game on March 5, 2003, it has developed Playwin into a nationally recognized lottery and gaming brand.
Access to Playwin Lotto Games was initially limited to some 3,500 retail outlets where fixed lottery terminals were installed. These were developed with the assistance of California-based International Lottery & Totalizator Systems, Inc., a global leader in computerized wagering equipment and systems. However, the market was greatly expanded in 2008 with the introduction of “MyPlaywin.com Cards,” which brought the experience of lottery play to the nation’s online community and a new generation of Playwin Lotto Games fans.
Enjoying Playwin Lotto Games Online
Three different weekly Playwin Lotto Games are offered on the myplaywin.com web site, each with a jackpot of no less than 1.0 Crores (10 million Rupees or US$222,000). They include Thunderball (drawn on Tuesdays), Thursday Super Lotto and Saturday Super Lotto. There is also a Fast Lotto Game that is drawn four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) with a prize pool starting at 2.0 Lakhs. Together, these games make up the Playwin “Lotto Kitty.” In every case, the price of a single ticket is 10 Rupees (about US$0.22), and tickets may be purchased between 7am and 10pm daily.
For each of the Lotto Kitty games, the player may choose his/her own lucky numbers by using the convenient “number selector.” Just a click on a desired number and it is displayed on the corresponding lotto ball. Continue clicking until the full number of choices has been made—six out of 49 possibilities in the case of Thursday Super Lotto and Saturday Super Lotto or five out of 31 for Fast Lotto. For Thunderball, five of 42 numbers are selected, plus the TB (Thunderball number)—one out of 15.
Matching three, four or five numbers on the weekly draws will win an attractive cash prize of 50 Rupees or more. Getting one pick correct on Thunderball plus the TB will pay 20 Rupees. For Fast Lotto, getting two, three or four numbers correct returns a small payout, too. To win the top jackpot, all selected numbers must be drawn. If nobody matches all of the numbers required, the jackpot rolls over to the next drawing.
Because the Essel Group owns a number of media channels, the three big weekly drawings are televised. Its Zee Zing and Zee Musik affiliates broadcast the results between 10pm and 10:30pm on the day of the drawing. Detailed results of every Lotto Kitty drawing are published online, too, not only on the primary web site but also on the Playwin blog at http://hopevsmoney.blogspot.com/.
More Ways to Win
For those who like to play multiple tickets, there is an option available for up to six sets of selections per game at one go. Additionally, if the Lucky Pick toggle is selected, the computer will randomly generate numbers to fill the required spots. Tickets can also be played consecutively for up seven drawings in a row, making it easy to retain favorite numbers week by week.
Participation in Playwin Lotto Kitty games is by no means limited to retail terminals and the myplaywin.com web site. Players may also access tickets via Playwin Mobile by downloading the relevant application at http://mobile.myplaywin.com and registering an account number and PIN code via SMS. Full instructions on accessing the SMS Network are located on the myplaywin.com web site.
In addition to the four primary Lotto Kitty games, E-Play drawings have been offered in the past. When available, they take place each day of the week, every 20 minutes from 10am to 9pm with a break between 2pm and 2:45pm. Games go by the names Super Cards, Supreme Cards, Match4 Joker Lucky4, Sugar and Goa Sands, with different combinations of play and varying levels of jackpots offered. Tickets can be booked for up to 31 draws at a time.
Money Matters
Participating in Playwin Lotto Games is not limited to Indian citizens. Anyone anywhere has access to the Lotto Kitty via the Internet or SMS. However, payment for tickets can not be made directly via credit card or e-wallet. Instead, a prepaid MyPlaywin.com Card must be obtained.
Myplaywin.com Cards come in a variety of denominations: 200, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 Rupees. Each card is valid for twelve months from the date of first usage. These cards are identified in the system by a unique 12-digit account number and a 4-digit password, both of which appear under a scratch surface on the back of each card.
Obtaining a MyPlaywin.com Card can be accomplished in one of three ways: direct purchase at a participating Playwin retail outlet; via email to help@myplaywin.com, providing a detailed address and telephone number for contact; or by SMS, texting MPHOME to 57575, and a representative will reply with instructions.
Winners, of course, need to get paid. Small claims of less than 10,000 Rupees (US$222) may be redeemed instantly for cash at Playwin retail outlets. Those who play on the Internet or via SMS will automatically have their winnings directly credited to their MyPlaywin.com Card account.
Note that claim forms (available online) are required to receive amounts greater than 10,000 Rupees on a single ticket. It takes about 90 days from the date of claim submission to process prizes worth more than 10,000 Rupees. Cheques are issued directly to the winner. All transactions are in Indian Rupees.
