Santiago Martin: The 'lottery king' who bought electoral bonds worth ₹1,300 crore
Election Commission's released of data on the electoral bond scheme inroduced in 2018 turned quite a few heads, with multiple conglomerates donating incredible amounts of money to India's political parties. Right at the top of the list was Future Gaming Private Limited, a lottery company founded by one Santiago Martin, that donated ₹1,368 crore.
Who is Martin, described as a smooth-talking 'lottery king'?
Born in 1961, Martin spent some of his youth working in Myanmar as a daily wager, returning to India in the 1980s just as the craze for lottery tickets picked up. The future founder of Future Gaming settled in Coimbatore, working in a tea shop in Tatabad. Eventually, Martin would decide to set up shop selling lottery tickets.
«The lottery trade was a double bonanza for him,» Martin’s wife Leema Rose tells Times of India. «Sales grew and quite often prizes from unsold tickets would also land in his pockets.»
Taking a gamble
In 1987, a 26-year-old Martin would open five lottery shops in Coimbatore. He married his wife the same year. The next year, the businessman would start printing tickets, launching his own lottery business with multiple brands and higher prizes.
As his business grew, Martin would clash with regional players such as Deccan Agencies in Chennai, K A S Sekar in Madurai and his brother Ramadas in Trichy. By the 1990s, Future would establish itself as the market leader in Tamil Nadu.
Martin's metoric rise would first hit a hurdle in 2003, when then-Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa banned lottery
