Thiruvananthapuram: Opposing the Centre’s move to legalise online lottery, Kerala Government has alleged that there was a “nexus between online lottery mafia and Congress” and said it would launch a political campaign against it.

“The nexus between Congress and online lottery mafia is so strong… the draft on ’Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010 published by the Centre made the online lottery a part of the lotteries,” state Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac told reporters here.

He said the Kerala Government would launch a political campaign against the Centre’s move to legalise online lottery in the country. The state government had banned online lottery in the state by listing it under the category of ’gambling’. But the new rules would overrule Kerala Government’s ban, pushing lakhs of common men into the hands of ’lottery mafia’, he said.

The government had already asked the Centre to desist from legalising online lottery, he said adding that an all-party delegation from the state had also submitted a memorandum in this regard to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.