Mainland China’s sales of official lottery products in April rose by 9.0 percent from the prior-year period, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Finance.
Total sales in April were nearly CNY41.71 billion (US$6.5 billion), the Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday. Welfare lottery sales increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year, to CNY19.91 billion, while sports lottery sales rose by 12.7 percent to approximately CNY22 billion.
For the first four months of 2018, total sales of lottery products increased by 9.3 percent year-on-year, to approximately CNY145.88 billion. Welfare lottery sales totalled CNY71.96 billion in the four months to April 30, up by 2.7 percent from the prior-year period, while sports lottery sales increased by 16.5 percent year-on-year to CNY73.92 billion.
In April, sales were up in 26 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 increase 5.7 percent year-on-year in April.
Guangdong continues to be the leading lottery market in mainland China. Combined sales of welfare and sports lottery tickets reached nearly CNY14.22 billion in the January to April period, up 10.2 percent from a year earlier.
Guangdong was followed by Jiangsu province, where total lottery ticket sales were approximately CNY11.98 billion, an increase of 15.2 percent year-on-year. Shandong province in eastern China was ranked third, with ticket sales reaching approximately CNY10.98 billion in the first four months of 2018, up 2.0 percent from a year earlier, according to official data.
