Can I Play the
PUNJAB STATE LOTTERY ONLINE?
The Punjab State Lottery is a government lottery in India, which you can play only offline. You must buy paper tickets from authorized sellers to enter a draw.
For those looking to play the Punjab Lottery online, international lotteries are a better deal. There are sites that let players buy tickets online to the official draws of these lotteries or bet on the outcome for the same jackpots and prizes.
This article discusses the government lottery of Punjab in detail, including the schemes, prize tiers, cost of tickets, how to buy them, and the best legal alternatives online.
Top 3 Sites to Play Online Lottery from Punjab
An Overview of the Punjab Lottery
The Lottery Department of Punjab currently runs 16 Dear Lottery schemes on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis as follows:
Weekly Draws
- Dear 20 – Thursday (4:30 PM)
- Dear 50 – Tuesday (4:30 PM)
- Dear 100 – Monday, Wednesday, Friday (8 PM)
- Dear 200 – Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday (8 PM)
Ticket prices of the weekly draws in Punjab correspond to their names. For instance, tickets to Dear 20 cost ₹20 while those to Dear 50 cost ₹50. Similarly, tickets to Dear 100 are priced at ₹100 and those to Dear 200 at ₹200.
The Dear 20 scheme offers 6 prize tiers while the other three offer 7. There are no consolation prizes, whatsoever. The top prize in Dear 20 draws is ₹20 lakhs and the lowest is ₹50. Dear 50 pays a jackpot of ₹50 lakhs and a minimum prize of ₹100.
On the other hand, Dear 100 pays a top prize of ₹1 crore and a minimum prize of ₹200. The jackpot of Dear 200, too, is ₹1 crore. However, the lowest prize is ₹200. In short, the maximum you can win off a ticket to weekly draws in Punjab is ₹1 crore and the minimum is ₹50
Monthly Draws
- Dear 250 – 2nd Thursday
- Dear 500 – 3rd Saturday
- Dear 1000 – 2nd Saturday
- Dear 2000 – 1st Saturday
- Dear 2000 Plus – 5th Saturday
These monthly draws in Punjab happen at 8 PM on the day they are held. As is true for the weekly draws, tickets to these draws, too, are priced according to the name.
For instance, Dear 250 tickets are available for ₹250 each, Dear 500 for ₹500, Dear 1000 for ₹1,000, Dear 2000 for ₹2,000, and Dear 2000 Plus for ₹2,000.
When it comes to prize tiers, the schemes Dear 250, Dear 500, and Dear 1000 offer 7 each while Dear 2000 and Dear 2000 Plus offer 6. There are no consolation prizes in these monthly draws.
Top prizes vary according to the draw you choose to play. Dear 250 pays ₹2.5 crores as the jackpot and ₹500 as the minimum prize. The top prize in Dear 500 is ₹1.5 crores and the minimum prize is ₹2,000. Dear 1000, on the other hand, pays a jackpot of ₹2.5 crores and ₹2,000 as the minimum prize.
Dear 2000 and Dear 2000 Plus offer the same prize amount. The top prize is valued at ₹5 crores and the lowest at ₹4,000. Overall, the highest you can win off a ticket to monthly draws in Punjab is ₹5 crores and the lowest is ₹500.
Quarterly Draws
Currently, the State of Punjab conducts only one quarterly draw by the name of Dear 5000. One draw is organized every 3 months at 8 PM on a prescheduled date. Each ticket costs ₹5,000. The scheme pays out prizes arranged in 5 tiers. The top prize pays ₹1 Crore and the lowest ₹6,000.
Yearly Draws
- Dear New Year Lohri Bumper – Once on New Year/Lohri (January) at 7 PM
- Dear Rakhi Bumper – Once on Raksha Bandhan (August) at 4 PM
- Dear Diwali Bumper – Once on Diwali (October/November) at 7 PM
- Dear Baisakhi Bumper – Once on Baisakhi (March/April) at 4:30 PM
- Dear Maha Shiv Ratri Bumper – Once on Shivratri (February/March) at 3 PM
- Dear Holi Bumper – Once on Holi (March) at 4 PM
Every year, 6 annual government lottery draws are conducted in Punjab. The dates are fixed according to various festivals that happen all year round. The timings have been mentioned above.
The prize tiers are different for different annual draws in Punjab. For instance, the Dear New Year Lohri Bumper draw offers 7 prize tiers where the highest prize is ₹2.5 crores and the lowest is ₹500.
The Dear Rakhi Bumper and Dear Diwali Bumper draws come with 8 prize tiers each where the jackpot is ₹1.5 crores and the lowest prize is ₹250. Similarly, the Dear Baisakhi Bumper draw offers 6 prize tiers where the top prize can fetch you ₹5 crores and the lowest ₹1,000.
The prize tiers for the Dear Maha Shiv Ratri Bumper draw are 6 in total, as well. However, the top prize is ₹5.25 crores while the minimum prize is ₹1,000. Last, but not least is the Dear Baisakhi Bumper, which comes with 8 prize tiers and pays a top prize of ₹1.5 crores and a minimum of ₹200.
Overall, an annual lottery draw in Punjab can fetch you a maximum of 5.25 crores and a minimum of ₹200. Players would be excited to know that Punjab State Lotteries are among the most rewarding in India.
International Lotteries – the Legal Online Alternatives
More rewarding than the Indian State Lotteries of Punjab are international lotteries that can be played online. To help you choose a legit one, we have listed below some of the best world lotteries available on the web.
Min jackpot: ₹150 Crores
Record win: ₹16,500 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹139 Crores
Record win: ₹1847 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹9 Crores
Record win: ₹128 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹17 Crores
Record win: ₹255 Crores
How to Buy a Lottery Ticket in Punjab?
There are two ways to buy a lottery ticket in Punjab – offline and online. Let’s discuss how.
Offline
Assuming you want to play the paper lottery in Punjab, you can buy tickets only offline via authorized sellers. You would need to visit their shop in person and make a purchase by paying upfront.
Beware of sellers on the web who seek money in return for doorstep delivery of tickets. Such practices have been outlawed as per the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998.
Once you have bought your paper ticket, write down your name and address in the space provided at the back. This would prove that you are the owner of the ticket and purchased it from the concerned seller. A signed ticket also helps in claiming the prize quickly in case a win is registered.
Remember to keep your Punjab Lottery paper ticket in a safe place so you don’t lose or damage it. Indian Government lotteries do not pay out prizes for missing or mutilated tickets.
Online
Look beyond buying paper lottery tickets in Punjab and you’d find several options online. International lottery sites that accept Indian players serve as a gateway to popular world lotteries such as the US Powerball, EuroJackpot, and EuroMillions.
To buy online tickets to one or all of these lotteries, follow these 6 steps:
- Register with a recommended lottery site.
- Choose the lottery you wish to play.
- Pick the number of lines and lucky numbers.
- Add the ticket(s) to your cart.
- Proceed to checkout.
- Complete the payment.
- Get purchase order confirmation via email.
Simple, isn’t it?
Which Is Better: Punjab Government Lottery or International Lottery?
The Punjab Government Lottery is among the highest-paying lotteries in India. However, when compared to international lotteries, it simply falls short of expectations. There are multiple reasons, which we would be discussing now.
The first reason is the unavailability of the lottery game. There is no way to choose your lucky numbers since the paper tickets come pre-printed with certain combinations of numbers. You can’t buy a ticket online, which is yet another inconvenience.
International lotteries, on the other hand, can be played absolutely online. Players can pick numbers they believe would be drawn and purchase their entries via online payment. The availability of multiple banking methods makes this even easier.
Yet again, the inconveniences associated with losing a paper ticket are absent in world lottos. When you play a government lottery in India, you need to be extra cautious where you place your ticket. If you misplace or lose it, or end up damaging it, your claim to a prize won’t be entertained.
Lotteries, when played online, do not come with this issue. You’re getting either a scanned copy of the original lottery ticket or email confirmation of your purchase. There is no way you can lose either. Even if you deleted the proof, the lottery site operators would have a backup so you can retrieve your ticket when needed.
Furthermore, the process of claiming a prize is way simpler when you win in online lotteries. No need to check results as you would get notified by the lottery site. From there, you would need to submit proof of identity and verify banking details to get paid. Winnings are paid out shortly after verification.
This isn’t the case with paper lotteries in India. When you win, you have a fixed time frame to claim your prize beyond which you wouldn’t be entertained. So, you need to be on your toes when checking results.
If you win, you must submit your original winning ticket along with several documents that must be duly signed by government officials. In India, getting a document signed at a government office is no less than a nightmare. You’d be rushing pell-mell everywhere!
The last reason to prefer international lotteries to paper lotteries in India is the size of the jackpots. World lottos would always pay bigger jackpots compared to the Punjab govt lotteries no matter what.
Punjab State Lotteries Rules 2015
The State of Punjab conducts paper lotteries as per the Central Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 and Punjab State Lotteries Rules 2015. Accordingly, the State Lottery Department must announce the following information before any approved draw is organized:
- Name of the lottery and schemes
- Maximum Retail Price of each ticket
- Total tickets to be printed
- Gross value of the printed tickets
- Information about all ticket sellers
- Prize structure and tiers
- Value of each prize
- Periodicity of each draw
- Location of the draws
- Payment process for the prizes
The Punjab State Lottery might be one of the best government lotteries in India. However, we still cannot ignore the major drawbacks it comes with. Players who understand this have already switched to playing international lotteries online. What about you?
More states where lottery is legal
Assam (Bodoland), Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, West Bengal
