Calcutta, March 12 :     The state government today banned with immediate effect the sale of single- and double-digit lottery tickets in West Bengal. The decision was taken after scrutinising police and public reports of growing incidents of violence and murder sparked off by lottery operations of this kind. State finance minister Asim Dasgupta said in Writers? Buildings today that single- and double-digit lotteries were luring innocent people, even students, and adversely affecting them. He said that from April 1, all lottery tickets not banned under this order can be marketed in West Bengal only after obtaining permission from the director of lotteries. ?We have seen how these lotteries can even lead to killings,? Dasgupta said, adding that legal experts were consulted before taking the step. Officials of the detective department said the racket runs on simple lines. Anybody with Rs 11 to spare can get a ticket by 1 pm on any given day. He has to wait for the results to be announced at 2 pm. The maximum prize money is Rs 100. But 98 per cent of those who buy these tickets are losers. In the process, the organisers make a whopping Rs 1 lakh every day. These lotteries had been milking daily wage earners, hawkers, rickshaw-pullers and students who often feel tempted to try and make a quick buck. ?The instant or daily lotteries are nothing but gambling or satta which actually ruins people,? deputy commissioner Narayan Ghosh said. Agents of daily lottery operators force people in the red-light area of Sonagachhi to buy tickets. The Burtolla police station has recorded extortion cases in this connection. ?People were actually being exploited by these lottery shops. We feared that students too may have been lured to this form of gambling in the guise of instant lotteries,? state lotteries directorate director Kalyani Sarkar, said. She said the daily or instant lotteries were operated by people from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and other north-eastern states. There were about 80 daily lottery outlets in the city. Sometimes they operate out of public call booths to hoodwink the police. These operators are small-time businessmen working on behalf of their agents in Nagaland or Arunachal Pradesh. They have to make a one-time deposit of about Rs 2 lakh with their agents.