Kerala Lottery Glossary
Clear definitions and explanations of terms, rules, statistical tests, and systems used on this platform.
Weekly Draw
Standard lottery drawings conducted every afternoon at 3:00 PM IST by the Directorate of Kerala State Lotteries. Each day of the week corresponds to a different lottery series (e.g., Sthree Sakthi on Tuesdays, Karunya on Saturdays). See the official weekly draw schedule or learn more about us.
Bumper Draw
Special premium bumper lottery draws conducted 6 times annually to coincide with major festivals and seasons (e.g., Christmas-New Year, Vishu, Thiruvonam, Pooja, Monsoon, Summer). They carry significantly higher ticket prices (ranging from ₹125 to ₹500) and multi-crore first prizes. You can browse the active and retired series on our Lotteries hub.
Suffix Matches
Prizes (typically 5th to 8th prize tiers) awarded to any ticket whose final 4 digits exactly match the announced winning numbers, regardless of the ticket series prefix.
Consolation Prize
A smaller cash prize awarded to the tickets that share the exact first prize winning number but are printed in the other remaining series prefixes of that draw.
DLO (District Lottery Office)
Regional administrative offices of the Kerala State Lottery Department. Winners of prizes up to ₹1 Lakh present their physical tickets at the DLO corresponding to their district. Agents may also assist winners with claims up to ₹5,000 on their behalf, as a convenience option. Learn more in our Claim Guide or find offices on our Districts map.
Welfare Earmarking (Karunya Benevolent Fund)
A common misconception is that all lottery revenue goes directly to health welfare. Historically, the Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF) directly received lottery earmarks. Currently, net lottery profits go directly to the State Exchequer, which funds broader public welfare, health benefits, and infrastructure across Kerala. Read the full details in our Statewide Statistics explainer.
Chi-Square (χ²) Test
A statistical hypothesis test used in our Fairness Reports to analyze if the last digits of first-prize tickets follow a uniform probability distribution (each digit 0-9 having a 10% chance), confirming the draw machine is random.
Z-Score Analysis
A statistical measure used in our fairness reports to check whether specific two-digit suffixes appear more or less often than pure chance would predict. It flags digit combinations worth double-checking for mechanical calibration — it does not identify "hot" or "lucky" numbers, and has no predictive value for future draws.
Drought Status (District)
A metric indicating a district has not sold a single 1st prize winning ticket in over 90 days. This helps trace ticket distribution density and sales performance rather than draw bias. You can view each district's wins on our districts database.