One of the largest lottery distributors in India has introduced a new mobile app to give customers more flexibility in purchasing their tickets. Sugal & Damani has developed the mobile platform 
“Luckykhel,” which will be rolled out over the next several days. With the mobile support, the company becomes the first in the country to introduce a mobile lottery ticket purchasing application.
Sugal & Damani controls approximately 75% of the online lottery market. It operates more than 20,000 point-of-sale terminals across India and expects the new mobile app to give it the possibility to control an even larger market segment.
According to Sugal & Damani CEO Kamlesh Vijay, who spoke with the Economic Times about the new platform, “No trade can ignore the digital medium. There’ll be 468 million smartphone users by 2021…We’d be able to reach out to more customers via mobile phones. Our costs would go down and we’ll be able to sell lotteries round the clock.”
The app will be made available for Android devices, with additional support expected to be included at some point in the near future. Luckykhel will be able to provide support for lottos, lucky-4s, powerball, magic lottos and more, provided the purchase is over the age of 18.
The new app will include Know-Your-Customer procedures, which should appease regulators. It will also offer an array of security features, including a geo-location capability that will prevent access to ticket purchases from area where lotteries are not allowed.
Vijay explained, “By opening a mobile distribution channel, we’re trying to bring on board many more customers. We’re targeting anybody who is above 18 years of age.”
The app will initially be available for the lotteries in Goa, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Sugal & Damani is already working on being able to offer the platform in the additional states of Maharashtra and Punjab.
The introduction of the new app comes only a month after the company found itself in hot water with the government. It was one of three companies, alongside Martin Group and Essel Group, that accused by regulators of tax evasion. The companies reportedly did not pay the requisite Good and Services Tax in accordance with India laws.
