Lottery tickets back to Rs 20

The State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday accepted that the government had incurred a massive loss due to the lottery ticket price issue during the last two weeks. Announcing President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to revoke a 2017 Budget proposal to increase the price of a lottery ticket from Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 at a media briefing held in Colombo, Minister Yapa said that he had asked the authorities to provide an estimate of the loss incurred by the National Lotteries Board due to this issue. Yapa said the President made this order after discussing with relevant parties and studying all aspects of the issue.