BANGALORE: Thousands of lottery ticket vendors in a southern Indian state were forced to down shutters on Wednesday after a court upheld a ban on the trade, which rakes in $3.5 billion in annual sales.A provincial high court judge on Tuesday dismissed petitions brought by lottery organisers and an association of lottery dealers questioning the March 27 ban, which they argued infringed upon their right to trade in Karnataka state.

“Lottery is a game of chance involving no skills and hence it is gambling,” the New Indian Express cited the court order as saying, ruling that the lottery trade could not be considered to be legitimate commerce. The ruling annulled a previous order by the same court which temporarily blocked the ban, and put an immediate halt to lottery sales across the state of 55 million people.

Karnataka's minister for lotteries Ramachandra Gowda, who has spearheaded efforts to enforce the ban, called the ruling a victory for the state government. “It's the responsibility of any government and every true citizen to fight against a menace to the society like gambling,” Gowda said. “It will improve the confidence of the people in the government and the judiciary.”—AFP