Kerala liquor sales shot up 50% during World Cup final

On the World Cup finals day on Sunday, Kerala witnessed an increase of over 50 per cent in the liquor sale, a major chunk of which will go to the exchequer as taxes on liquor in the state is around 250 per cent.

According to sources at the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), also known as Bevco, which is the sole liquor distributor of the state, liquor worth nearly Rs 50 crore was sold out in the state on Sunday. It is nearly Rs 20 crore more than the average sale on Sundays, which used to be Rs 30 crore to Rs 33 crore.

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Bevco CMD, Yogesh Gupta said around Rs 15 crore additional revenue came on last Sunday. However, this does not include the details of sale of liquor from private bars.

The increase in the sale on Sunday seems to be due to the World Cup finals as there were small to large gatherings at many places, including hotels and clubs, across the state to watch the Argentina - France finals on big screens. Usually the state used to record high liquor sales on festivals like Onam, Christmas etc.