Mainland China’s total official lottery sales for October dropped to RMB31.23 billion (US$4.88 billion), down 4.5 percent year-on-year, according to official data from the country’s Ministry of Finance, published on Tuesday.
Welfare lottery sales decreased by 8.0 percent year-on-year, to RMB16.3 billion, while sports lottery sales declined 0.3 percent to RMB14.9 billion, the Ministry of Finance announced.
Monthly official lottery sales in mainland China have been declining since June as measured in year-on-year terms.
Combined lottery sales in the first 10 months of this year amounted to RMB303.1 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 2.9 percent.
Welfare lottery sales between January and October declined by 1.7 percent year-on-year to RMB165.3 billion, while sports lottery sales were RMB137.9 billion, down 4.2 percent.
The country’s State Council confirmed in October its commitment to reducing the time required for the approval and administration of lottery sales and payouts, cancelling 62 central authorisation requirements and devolving responsibility to provincial finance departments.
However, online sales of mainland China lottery products are still currently suspended, a move described by the authorities as temporary but which has hit several companies operating in the sector.
