The Indian state of Himachal Pradesh launched the process to revive its state lottery on August 19, 2026, nearly three decades after lotteries were banned in 1999. The Directorate of Treasuries, Accounts and Lotteries, under the state Finance Department, opened e-tender 2026_DTAL_141511_1 to appoint a Sole Selling Agent for both paper and online lottery operations.
The initiative is being driven politically by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, who also directly holds the Finance portfolio as of August 2026. Harshwardhan Chauhan, Minister for Industries, Parliamentary Affairs and Labour, Employment & Overseas Placement, has also publicly defended the return of the lottery as a new source of state revenue.
Harshwardhan Chauhan
The tender requires an Earnest Money Deposit of ₹2 crore, an initial annual licence fee of ₹10 crore, an automatic 5% yearly increase, and a Minimum Guaranteed Amount of ₹6 crore per year. The government expects the revived lottery to generate at least ₹50 crore annually.
Vijay Wardhan
The pre-bid meeting is scheduled for August 29, electronic bids will open on September 3, close on September 14, and technical bids will be opened on September 15. The framework is based on the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998, the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010, and the new Himachal Pradesh State Lottery (Regulation) Rules, 2026, published on June 4. The successful bidder must establish a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The current tender allows up to 12 draws per day and three bumper draws annually, while the wider state rules permit up to 24 daily draws and six bumper draws a year. Tickets may start from ₹2, while the first prize cannot be below ₹10,000.
Technical control will remain with the state. The online system must use a central server, mirror server, territorial blocking, QR or barcode identification and prior registration of every ticket, while sales must be blocked in Indian jurisdictions designated as “lottery free zones.” The operational authority is headed by Vijay Wardhan, IAS, the Director of Treasuries, Accounts and Lotteries, with Vijay Wardhan serving as Additional Director.
The move reverses the policy introduced by former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in 1999. Himachal Pradesh aims to have the new system ready for Diwali 2026, while unauthorised private lotteries remain prohibited under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
