Following its traditional harvest festival Onam, the state of Kerala is preparing to hold the draw for India's largest bumper lottery scheme, the Thiruvonam Bumper 2026. While the state releases this seasonal edition every year, the 2026 bumper features the biggest first prize in its history at Rs 30 crore. Across all tiers, the lottery will distribute 5,34,670 individual prizes amounting to a total payout of Rs 125.54 crore.
Kerala Onam Bumper 2026: Tier-Wise Prize Breakdown
The top prize for the 2026 season has been raised by Rs 5 crore, increasing from Rs 25 crore in the previous year to Rs 30 crore. This jackpot reward will be granted to a single lucky ticket holder.
For the second prize tier, 20 winners will be selected to receive Rs 1 crore each, creating a total payout pool of Rs 20 crore. Similarly, the third prize category will also select 20 winning tickets, with each winner receiving Rs 25 lakh, representing a combined allocation of Rs 5 crore.
In the fourth prize tier, 10 winners will receive Rs 5 lakh each, totaling Rs 50 lakh. The fifth prize tier will reward 10 winners with Rs 2 lakh each, resulting in a Rs 20 lakh total distribution. Lower tier payouts are structured as follows
- 6th Prize: Up to 54,000 winners will receive Rs 5,000 each.
- 7th Prize: Up to 81,000 winners will receive Rs 2,000 each.
- 8th Prize: Up to 1,24,200 winners will receive Rs 1,000 each.
- 9th Prize: Up to 2,75,400 winners will receive Rs 500 each.
Consolation Prizes and Ticket Seller Commission Rules
The scheme includes a consolation prize component of Rs 5 lakh each for 9 winners, representing a collective payout of Rs 45 lakh. Consolation winners are identified from tickets that match the exact six-digit sequence of the 1st prize winning ticket but belong to a different series.
Additionally, the lottery agent or vendor who sells the winning 1st prize ticket is entitled to receive a vendor commission ranging between 10% and 12% deducted from or calculated on the top winning sum.
Ticket Price, Series Allocation, and Printing Volumes
Tickets for the Thiruvonam Bumper 2026 are priced at Rs 500 per entry. The tickets are issued across 10 distinct alphabetical series: TA, TB, TC, TD, TE, TG, TH, TJ, TK, and TL. To meet high demand during the festive period, the government has printed up to 90 lakh tickets across these series.
Draw Date, Schedule, and Venue Details
The official lucky draw is scheduled to take place on September 26, 2026. The live draw selection process will begin at 2:00 pm IST at Gorky Bhavan, located near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram.
The draw schedule is listed on Kerala's official LOTIS portal and transcribed from the published Kerala Gazette scheme. Once the draw completes, the portal will update to display the verified winning ticket numbers.
Tax Structure, Cess, and Surcharge Rules
Lottery winnings in states such as Kerala, Sikkim, Punjab, Assam, and Nagaland are subject to statutory taxation rules. For any prize amount exceeding Rs 10,000, the following deductions apply at source
- Base Income Tax: A mandatory 30% tax rate is levied on prize money exceeding Rs 10,000.
- Health and Education Cess: An additional 4% cess is calculated on the tax component, raising the standard effective tax rate to 31.2%.
- Surcharge: If the winning amount surpasses applicable high-income threshold limits, statutory government surcharges are added to the final tax obligation.
