India, Feb. 11 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that only state governments - not the Centre, can impose taxes on the sale of lotteries.

The judgment, delivered by a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, struck down the Centre's attempt to levy service tax on lottery distributors, reinforcing the constitutional principle that lotteries fall under the exclusive domain of states.

The court ruled that lotteries are classified under "betting and gambling," as per Entry 62 of the State List in the Constitution, meaning only state legislatures have the authority to regulate and tax them. This decision comes after the Centre had sought to impose service tax on companies involved in distributing and marketing lotteries...