News Broadcasting
Kerala bans all lotteries in State
BANGALORE: Describing lotteries as a social evil, Kerala – one of the pioneers of government run lotteries in India, has decided to ban all lotteries in the state, including its own state run paper lottery.
In a bid to prevent the return of online lotteries and lotteries of other states which were garnering a major chunk of income from the lottery business in Kerala, the state cabinet on 25 January issued a blanket ban on all lotteries.
Lotteries in the country are governed by the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 (Act No 17 of 1998). As per Section 6 of the Act: The Central Government, may by order published in the Official Gazette, prohibit lottery organized, conducted or promoted in contravention of the provisions of Section 4, or where tickets of such lottery are sold in contravention of the provisions of Section 5. As per various orders of the Supreme Court, lotteries cannot be banned selectively.
Earlier too, the Kerala Government on 8 November 2003, attempted to prevent the sale of other State lotteries, but this was stayed by the Kerala High Court on 19 December and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, in its interim order.
In the present situation, when the government recently banned on-line lotteries again, the concerned affected parties; namely the Government of Meghalaya and online lottery players approached the Supreme Court. The apex court’s verdict on Monday (24 January) underlined two options to the state governement – either to allow all lotteries or to ban the entire trade in the state.
This ban, directly or indirectly, will affect around 200,000 people including about 30,000 handicapped persons who will loose their income and livelihood earned by the sale of lottery tickets. The state exchequer will also be poorer by around Rs 200-300 million every year. The gazetted and non-gazetted officers of the state lotteries department would be deployed to other government departments, while alternative rehabilitation plans for people, directly affected by the ban, especially the handicapped, are being mooted by the government according to the state chief minister Oommen Chandy.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
