All About 'Lottery King' Santiago Martin: The Top Contributor To Electoral Bonds Under Central Agencies Lens

On 14 March, the Election Commission of India (EC) unveiled the list of entities that acquired electoral bonds for contributions to political parties, following an earlier directive from the Supreme Court of India to the State Bank of India to submit the data on 12 March.

Among the disclosed entities, a relatively unknown company named Future Gaming and Hotel Services, led by the renowned "Lottery King" Santiago Martin has emerged as the largest contributor to the electoral bonds scheme.

As per the data released by the EC, the company purchased bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore between October 2020 and January this year.

Formerly known as Martin Lottery Agencies Ltd, Future Gaming initially operated in Tamil Nadu, engaging in printing and selling lottery tickets.

Over time, it expanded its operations to Kerala, Karnataka, and the northeast region of India.

The company's website boasts of being a leading player in the Indian lottery industry, with a turnover exceeding Rs 2 billion.

However, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited has been under the scrutiny of various agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Income Tax department, for several years.

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The investigations primarily focus on alleged irregularities related to Sikkim lotteries, with accusations of illegal profits and money laundering.

In response to these allegations, the ED conducted multiple raids and probes, uncovering instances of illegal retention of unsold lottery tickets and manipulation of prize-winning tickets.

ED claimed in a press statement in April 2022 that “Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, its various sub-distributors, and area-distributors criminally conspired together and illegally retained unsold lottery tickets and claimed top prizes on such unsold tickets in the pre-GST period till 2017.”

An official, however, said that CBI, ED and IT probes “cannot be linked to the bond purchases as the company has been under the radar for very long for its lottery related irregularities.”

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