Biggest Lottery Winners From India

Top 10 Biggest Lottery Winners from India

The genuineness of these online lottery sites is evident from the lucky winners who bagged huge jackpots from the tickets they bought on these websites. Some of them also bought tickets from authorised vendors in different countries. We have listed the top 10 biggest lottery winners from India who bought the lucky tickets.

Hira Singh - $50 Million in Mega Millions (March 2019)

The probability of matching all six numbers on a lottery ticket is quite low. However, Hira Singh was fortunate enough to be the lucky one. In March 2019, Hira Singh, an Indian residing in Kansas, US, bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket. He was regular with his purchase and bought this lucky ticket for a Tuesday draw while travelling for work. After missing the live draw announcement, he went to scan his ticket with numbers 10-12-16-49-57 and mega ball number 18. What the machine showed was unbelievable for him or anyone in his shoes. This made him rescan his ticket three times before he believed that all the numbers on his ticket matched the draw and he had won the massive jackpot of $50 million. 

Sandeep Singh - $ 30 Million in Mega Millions (October 2012)

Imagine becoming a millionaire at the young age of 22. Sandeep Singh, also known as Sunny, became one by buying the tickets for the Mega Millions lottery with $4 which he won through a scratch card. The story behind this fortunate event is no less than a Bollywood movie. Being a hardworking individual, Sunny went through the ups and downs in life and heartbreak when his girlfriend dumped him. His adamant nature made him believe that one day he will hit the jackpot, which eventually happened just days after his breakup. The grand jackpot of $61 million was divided between Sandeep and another winner. A fraction of the $31.5 million he got was used to pay off his mother’s debt and towards charity. 

Balraj Awasthi - $12.8 Million in Lotto 6/49 (February 2017)

With his roots in India, Balraj Awasthi was working as a chef in Toronto, Canada. He bought a lottery ticket with the hopes to win the jackpot and make his dreams to travel the world and own a business in Canada come true. Little did he know that his prayers were going to be answered. In February 2017 we won a whopping amount of $12.8 million. 

Tahir Ali - CAD 2 Million in Ontario 49 (June 2014)

Another Indian living in Canada became a millionaire by buying a ticket to the Ontario 49 lottery after listening to an advertisement on the radio. It was a too-good-to-believe situation for Tahir Ali and his wife. They were overjoyed after learning about their big win and even happier that this will secure the future of their children and support their education to a great extent. 

Nirmal Damodarsamy - $1 Million in Powerball (February 2016)

A subscription made for the US Powerball by this Indian-origin student studying in Chicago made him a millionaire sooner than he expected. Nirmal Damodarsamy bought a subscription to US Powerball, a service that many online lottery platforms offer, to automatically buy tickets to the next draw. Being a fortunate one, Nirmal bagged the $1 million prize in the first attempt with just a Powerball number being unmatched. This turned out to be a graduation gift for him as he intended to use this money to sponsor his family’s travel and stay for his graduation. 

Ushakiran Patel - $1 Million in Powerball (March 2018)

Just like Nirmal Damodarsamy, the five numbers on Ushakiran’s US Powerball ticket matched the drawn numbers. She won the $1 million prize after picking random numbers on the ticket. An India-origin retiree, living in America, she was unsure of what she would do with the grand prize. However, it will help her have a smooth and relaxed retirement period. 

Mohammad Salah - $1 Million in Dubai Duty-Free (February 2020)

How old is the youngest lottery winner in the world? The answer may shock you. Mohammad Salah was only one year old when he won $1 million. While all the international lotteries allow only people above 18 years to buy the ticket, Dubai Duty-Free allows buyers to register the ticket under someone else’s name. Ramsee Rahman, Mohammad Salah’s father, registered it under his name. He was an Indian expatriate in Dubai who won this huge prize for the bright future of his son. 

Lingaraju D. - $514,000 in Mega Millions (June 2020)

Lingaraju D is one of the blessed lottery winners who won big money on the popular lottery website in India, Lotto24/7. Buying international lotteries in India is convenient, but it turned out to be extremely fortunate for this retired health inspector who won $514,000 after the five out of six numbers on his ticket matched the drawn numbers on the Mega Millions lottery. He was just one number away from winning the $351 million jackpot. However, his winnings were enough for him to secure his retirement period, which he can spend lavishly. 

Partho Mondal - INR 52,86,935 in Malamaal Daily (November 2020)

Another big win by an Indian through one of the popular lottery websites in India was by Partho Mondal. He played the Lottoland exclusive lottery game, Malamaal Daily, which is quite popular amongst Indians and organises daily draws at the price of just INR 40 per ticket. The “Quick Pick” option turned out to be lucky for him as it did for a few others as well in this list. The numbers 03-05-14-30-31 landed him a big win of approximately INR 53 lakh. The kind-hearted man said that he would use the money to help his family and friends in need and will pay off all his debts. 

Prasanth Parasuraman - CAD 286,791 in Lotto 649 (January 2017)

When you are a regular player and know how low the odds of winning a draw are, it is difficult to believe when you actually win. Just like a few other winners on this list, Prasanth Parasuraman came to know about his big win almost after a week after the draw. An Indian residing in Canada, Prasanth usually bought his tickets only on Fridays. He bought this winning ticket on another day of the week and forgot about it. When he scanned his ticket, he deemed that $286,000 was only $286. He was later informed by the ticket retailer that his winnings were six figures. Prasanth put this money towards fulfilling his dreams to travel, buy a house and start his own business.

Summary

If luck is on your side, nothing can stop you from winning a significant jackpot. There are many websites available in India that sell lottery tickets to some of the biggest lottery games around the globe. You can try a hand or two just like our lucky winners on this list. However, the lottery is a pure game of chance that comes with extensively higher odds. It is advised to play responsibly and only spend what you can afford.

Lottery Laws in India

While there is a central law that governs lotteries and other gambling sites in India, one can see different laws and rules revolving around the games of chance in each state. This is because the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and the Lotteries Regulations Act of 1998 give each state authority to implement its own gambling laws. Let’s look at what you can expect when it comes to online and offline lotteries in India.

Offline

Out of 28 states and 8 union territories, 13 states of India officially organise state lotteries. These states include — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim and West Bengal.

All these states have government bodies that regulate the lottery draws in their respective states. These bodies only allow government lotteries, which means offline private lottery draws are not welcomed. Other states have completely banned physical lottery draws. 

Online

None of the Indian states has officially banned online lottery sites. These websites offer lottery tickets to an extensive collection of international lotteries. The absence of any specific law provides a way for punters to take part in some of the biggest lottery jackpots in the world, without the fear of breaking the rules. 

States like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been on a constant move to make amendments to the existing gambling laws. The state has tried a couple of times to ban online gambling. However, such amendments were denied by the Madras High Court. Karnataka has recently moved SC to appeal the amendments again. 

Apart from the above-mentioned two, online lottery sites are completely legal in all Indian states. Until the amendments that these two states are seeking are passed, online lotteries will remain legal.