Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XV: Of Offences Affecting the Public Health, Safety, Convenience, Decency and Morals
Section 297: Keeping lottery office
In plain words
Keeping an office or place for drawing a lottery that is not a State lottery or authorised by the State Government is punishable with up to six months in prison, or a fine, or both.
- Publishing an offer to pay money, deliver goods or do anything based on the result of such a lottery is punishable with a fine up to five thousand rupees.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
(1) Whoever keeps any office or place for the purpose of drawing any lottery not being a State lottery or a lottery authorised by the State Government, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
(2) Whoever publishes any proposal to pay any sum, or to deliver any goods, or to do or forbear from doing anything for the benefit of any person, on any event or contingency relative or applicable to the drawing of any ticket, lot, number or figure in any such lottery, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 297
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.