How about a lottery business where you just can't lose?

Well, corporate India -- which is minting megabucks in the online lottery business -- seems to be moving towards that Utopian state.

As is the wont globally, players in this Rs 20,000 crore-(Rs 200 billion)-and-growing local industry want to take insurance covers against jackpot prizes, thereby ensuring that it's not they who cough up the winnings.

And domestic insurance companies are equally eager to write this lottery business, though the quotes offered -- based on reinsurance rates -- are high compared with what's offered in the international markets.

The Zee, Essar, Videocon, Modi and the Shapoorji Pallonji group are among the major India Inc names that have ventured into the online lottery business.

Some of them are scouting for risk cover whereby the winnings will be paid by the insurer and not by them.

Lottery insurance, better known as prize indemnity insurance, essentially means that a company pays a premium to an insurer, based on the number of tickets sold.

If someone hits the jackpot -- out of the tickets sold -- the insurance company pays the prize money.  In the Indian context, 60 per cent of the turnover goes for prizes while the rest is shared among the promoter, the states and the retailers.

The business is still at a nascent stage in India as just about 10 per cent of the total population has tried its luck.

The introduction of online lotteries by major corporate houses is expected to drive this mega business further.

In Britain and the US, the percentage of population participating in lotteries increased drastically to 90 per cent with the introduction of online lottery.

The global market today boasts of a turnover in excess of $128 billion in this segment.

How does the cover work? Against the price of Rs 10 for a lottery ticket, some Indian corporate houses have received a quotation of Rs 2.25 as the premium for the lottery cover.

In the international market, the insurance premium for such cover works out to as low as 60-80 paise per ticket.

A leading corporate house which is into the online lottery business feels the cover is costly considering the low sales of tickets in the country.

"Ideally, the cost should be around 75 paise per ticket to make the insurance cover economical," said a senior official of the company.

"The Indian market has not yet matured. Considering it is a new market and the size and risk exposure have yet to be determined, the insurance quotes will initially be on the higher side," said a senior official of a foreign insurance company which offers lottery insurance.

Insurers want to ascertain the system: how authentic, fool-proof and risk free it is.

"We will see how the first few draws work out and then the premium rate can be improved," said the official. Moreover, some insurance companies charge a minimum premium of about Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000).

Thus for the cover to be economically viable, a corporate needs to break even in the sale of tickets. Its turnover ought to cross Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million).

Worldwide, contests are insurance based. One may or may not find a winner. But insurance companies know how often lotteries are won and can thus afford to take the risk on their books.

This does not apply solely to online lotteries, but even other commonly played games like rolling the dice, guessing the number plate on a car and gambling games in casinos.