Lottery sales in mainland China rose 20.3 percent in year-on-year terms to RMB32.7 billion (US$5.3 billion) in October, official data from the Ministry of Finance show.
Welfare lottery sales in October reached RMB17.7 billion, up by 14.5 percent from a year earlier. Sports lottery sales increased by 27.9 percent year-on-year to RMB15 billion.
Sales were up in almost all of the country’s provinces and cities in October, with the exception of Beijing and Gansu province, according to the ministry’s data.
Total lottery sales in Beijing reached RMB730.3 million in October, down by 20.9 percent from a year ago. Welfare lottery sales in China’s capital city were up by 12.4 percent year-on-year in October, but sports lottery sales dropped by 51.2 percent to RMB235.2 million.
Lottery sales in mainland China reached RMB312.1 billion during the first 10 months of 2014, an increase of 24 percent compared to the year-prior period.
Welfare lottery sales reached RMB168.2 billion during the period between January and October, up by 17.2 percent. Sports lottery ticket sales grew at a much faster rate – 33.2 percent – reaching RMB143.9 billion.
