Mainland China’s sales of official lottery products in January decreased by 10.7 percent in year-on-year terms, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Finance.
Total sales in January were RMB29.16 billion (US$4.24 billion), the Ministry of Finance announced.
Welfare lottery sales decreased by 10.6 percent year-on-year, to RMB19.15 billion, while sports lottery sales declined 10.8 percent to RMB12.49 billion.
The Ministry of Finance said in its release that lottery sales in January had been negatively affected by the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday period. This year, the Chinese New Year began on January 28, with the holiday period extending into the first days of February.
In January, sales were up in only five of the 31 provinces and municipalities of mainland China authorised to sell lottery tickets. Guangdong province, which last year reported the highest combined sales of welfare and sports lottery tickets, saw its sales decline 17.4 percent year-on-year in January.
China’s total lottery sales increased by 7.3 percent year-on-year in 2016, to RMB394.64 billion, according to official data.
