News Broadcasting
Playwin Infravest’s online lottery launches today
Lottery may never be the same again from 6 pm today.
The Essel group promoted Super Lotto goes online at retail centres across the country from this evening, with Sikkim Lottery doing the honours initially. All 14 Indian states that legally allow the sale of lotteries have geared up to cash in on the growing online lottery business.
Playwin’s Super Lotto comes with a jackpot of Rs 20 million. Prizes can be won from Rs 60 onwards after buying a ticket worth Rs 10 in all states except in Sikkim, where the ticket is priced at Rs 20. The country’s first online “game of fortune” is being plugged aggressively with free ticket coupons for the first two days being supplied in ads in major newspapers.
Super Lotto claims complete transparency with computerisation at every stage. The inaugural draw will be held on 29 March at Gangtok and the results will be telecast live on Zee TV. The tickets can be bought at 300 departmental stores, grocery shops, ice-cream parlours, cyber cafes, apparel shops, restaurants, electronic goods stores, chemists and STD booths, each set up at a cost of Rs 300,000.
As per the license agreements between Playwin and the state governments, while the lotteries run on a virtual online network, they will also have a tangible presence in the form of actual tickets, which will have the number sequence of tickets bought by customers. Twenty-one per cent of the venture’s profits go to the state, 50 per cent towards the prize monies and 7-8 per cent towards the retail and distribution network. Playwin’s own share of the pie will be around 3-4 per cent of the sales, a part of which will be ploughed into a trust promoted by the Essel group.
While the paper lottery market in India currently stands at Rs 500,000 million, Playwin is investing around Rs 2000 million in developing the online gaming infrastructure in four states in the country in association with the state of the art technology provider, US based International Lottery Totalizer System (ILTS), which has installed such computerised wagering systems worldwide in 18 countries.
In addition to the state government audit, Ernst & Young too will audit and validate the online lottery process, say officials.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
