Sikkim State Lottery - Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

What we collect

sikkimstatelottery.org is an independent information and reference guide. We do not sell lottery tickets, hold player accounts, or process financial transactions. The personal data we collect is limited to what is necessary to operate this Site and improve the experience of our readers.

Data collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our servers and third-party analytics tools may automatically record:

• Your IP address and approximate geographic location (country/region level)
• Browser type, version, and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on each page, and navigation path
• Referring URL (the page that linked you here)
• Device type (desktop, tablet, or mobile)

Data you provide voluntarily

If you contact us via our email address or any enquiry form published on the Site, we collect:

• Your name (if provided)
• Your email address
• The content of your message

We do not collect payment card details, government identity numbers, or any other sensitive financial information. If you wish to purchase lottery tickets or manage a player account, please contact Sikkim State Lottery directly, that operator is entirely separate from and not affiliated with this Site.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies for the following purposes:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic site functionality, such as remembering your cookie consent preference.
• Analytics cookies: We use tools such as Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the Site. This data is aggregated and anonymised where possible.
• Advertising cookies: The Site may display third-party advertisements. Those ad networks may set their own cookies subject to their own privacy policies.

You can manage or withdraw your consent to non-essential cookies at any time through your browser settings or our cookie consent tool.

How We Use Your Information

Purposes of processing

We use the information we collect only for the following purposes:

• Operating and improving the Site: Analytics data helps us understand which content is useful, identify technical errors, and plan editorial updates.
• Responding to enquiries: If you email us, we use your name and email address solely to reply to your message and, where relevant, to follow up on an open query.
• Legal compliance: We may retain certain records to comply with applicable Indian law, including the Information Technology Act 2000 and its associated rules.
• Security: Server logs and IP data may be reviewed to detect and prevent abusive or fraudulent access to the Site.

Legal basis for processing

We rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:

• Legitimate interests: for analytics, security monitoring, and site improvement, balanced against your right to privacy.
• Consent: for non-essential cookies and tracking technologies, obtained through our cookie consent mechanism.
• Contractual necessity / pre-contractual steps: where you have contacted us with a specific request and we need to use your details to respond.
• Legal obligation: where retention or disclosure of data is required by applicable law or a competent authority.

Data sharing and third parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We may share data in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: Hosting providers, analytics platforms, and content delivery networks that process data on our behalf under appropriate data-processing agreements.
• Advertising partners: Third-party ad networks that display advertisements on the Site operate independently and are governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review those policies separately.
• Legal disclosure: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or regulatory authority, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of this Site or others.

For the avoidance of doubt, sikkimstatelottery.org does not share your data with Sikkim State Lottery or any lottery operator. We have no data-sharing relationship with any lottery company.

Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described above:

• Analytics data is retained in aggregated form for up to 26 months, after which it is deleted or further anonymised.
• Email correspondence is retained for up to 12 months after the last exchange, unless a longer period is required by law.
• Server access logs are retained for up to 90 days for security purposes.