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The Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion) Apollo Group on Thursday announced its foray into the online lottery market under the brand name - Lottus - and said the company would invest Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion) in the venture in the next three years.
"After our successful ventures in the pharma and leather segments in the international market, we want to be a significant player in the global lottery market, estimated to be about Rs 700,000 crore (Rs 7,000 billion)," the group chairman Onkar S Kanwar told reporters in New Delhi.
He said lottery is a Rs 50,000-crore (Rs 500 billion) business in the country.
Raaja Kanwar, joint managing director, Apollo International Ltd, said about two million people play lottery games daily in the market and Lottus has also entered into a partnership agreement with the Arunachal Pradesh government.
He said the company would set up 1,000 retail outlets in the country by next year and plans adding 4,000 outlets by 2005.
Banking on Apollo's vast network in the country, Apollo International managing director Sunil Tandon said, "Lottus has tried to bring together the best blend of professionals, technology and customer service to provide a fully transparent online lottery experience."
He said the company has a technical agreement with Jupiters International of Australia for sourcing "customer friendly" online lottery technology.