Excitement is building across Kerala as the much-anticipated draw for the 2025 Thiruvonam Bumper lottery takes place this Saturday! This year’s bumper has truly made history, smashing previous sales records with an astounding 75 lakh tickets printed and sold. Operated by the diligent State Lotteries department, this year’s top prize is a life-changing ₹25 crore.
The sheer popularity of the Thiruvonam Bumper is evident in the district-wise sales figures. Palakkad led the charge, selling an incredible 14.07 lakh tickets, followed closely by Thrissur with 9.37 lakh, and the capital Thiruvananthapuram securing third place with 8.75 lakh tickets. To put this phenomenal success into perspective, last year’s sales, a then-record 71,43,008 tickets, have been comfortably surpassed.
Kerala’s Finance Minister, K.N. Balagopal, will be on hand to inaugurate the grand draw event at Gorky Bhavan on Saturday. Adding to the festive spirit, he will also unveil the new Pooja Bumper, featuring an attractive first prize of ₹12 crore.
Interestingly, the draw was initially scheduled for August 27 but faced a delay. This postponement was due to a combination of heavy rainfall across the state and recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms, which unfortunately saw the tax on lottery tickets rise from 28% to 40%.
Despite earnest efforts by the Kerala government and various trade unions representing dedicated lottery vendors and agents, their pleas to the Union government against the tax hike were, regrettably, unsuccessful.
In light of the booming interest, the State Lotteries department, through its Director Mithun Premraj, has issued an important warning to prospective buyers. They urge everyone to exercise extreme caution against unauthorized mobile apps and online platforms falsely claiming to sell Kerala lottery tickets. Remember, the department operates exclusively through direct sales via its network of official agents and vendors to ensure fairness and security.