Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, the company associated with Santiago Martin, reportedly gave the DMK ₹509 crore in electoral bonds between April 2019 and November 2023. That was about 77.5% of the party’s reported ₹656.5 crore in bond receipts during the same period—the basis for the “77%” headline.
What the 77% figure measures
Scroll’s Project Electoral Bond report puts the DMK’s electoral-bond receipts at ₹656.5 crore for April 2019 through November 2023 and attributes ₹509 crore of that amount to Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd. Dividing ₹509 crore by ₹656.5 crore gives approximately 77.5%. ThePrint reported 77.5%, while Business Standard described the contribution as more than 77%.
The 77% figure is therefore a rounded share of the DMK’s reported bond receipts over that period. It is not a percentage of all donations the party received from every source. Scroll’s report provides the party-specific amounts; the percentage is the arithmetic relationship between them.
Who was reported as the donor?
The reported donor was Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, which Scroll identifies as Santiago Martin’s company. The ₹509 crore figure refers to the company’s reported contribution, not a donation established as having been made personally by Martin. “Lottery king” is a media shorthand associated with Martin; it does not change the identity of the company named in the reporting.
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How the bond data became public
On March 21, 2024, the Press Information Bureau said the State Bank of India had provided electoral-bond data to the Election Commission of India in compliance with Supreme Court directions. The ECI uploaded the data as received from SBI. Scroll says the DMK’s donor information was also disclosed after the party had submitted its donor details to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover. The PIB notice describes the publication process; it does not itself give the DMK-specific donor totals.
The PIB notice dated March 21, 2024 states that the ECI uploaded the data received from SBI “as is where is basis.”
Other reported DMK bond contributors
Scroll’s account also names these contributors and amounts for the DMK:
- Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd: ₹105 crore.
- India Cements: ₹14 crore.
- Sun TV Network Private Limited: ₹10 crore.
Scroll separately reported that Future Gaming had purchased electoral bonds worth ₹1,368 crore in total, based on earlier ECI disclosures. That is a broader purchase figure and should not be confused with the ₹509 crore reported as the company’s contribution to the DMK during April 2019–November 2023.
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What the figures do—and do not—show
The reported amounts describe bond contributions and their share of the DMK’s reported receipts for a defined period. By themselves, they do not establish why the company made the contribution, whether there was a quid pro quo, or whether it caused any government action. The publication of SBI-supplied data by the ECI explains how the records were released, but the DMK-specific amounts here remain figures reported by Scroll from the disclosed records.
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