Mainland China’s total sales from official lottery products decreased by 17.5 percent year-on-year to approximately CNY422.05 billion (US$60.36 billion) in full-year 2019, according to the latest data published on Monday by China’s Ministry of Finance.
Sales of welfare lottery sales in the 12 months to December 31 fell by 14.8 percent year-on-year, to nearly CNY191.24 billion. Sports lottery sales decreased by 19.6 percent to CNY230.82 billion.
In full-year 2019, only one in all of the 31 provinces and cities of mainland China authorised to sell lottery tickets recorded a year-on-year increase in total sales of lottery products. The southwest province of Sichuan reported sales up by 6.15 percent to CNY18.81 billion.
According to the official data, sales of lottery products in December were down by 4.9 percent from the prior-year period, to approximately CNY40.93 billion. Sales of welfare lottery fell by 9.0 percent from a year earlier, to just below CNY18.76 billion, while that of sports lottery fell by 1.1 percent to nearly CNY22.17 billion.
Guangdong remained mainland China’s biggest single-province market for lottery products in full-year 2019. Despite a fall of 19.2 percent year-on-year, the total lottery ticket sales in the province amounted to approximately CNY39.57 billion last year. Guangdong was followed by Jiangsu province, where total lottery ticket sales stood at about CNY35.36 billion, down 20.6 percent from the previous year.
The sale of lottery products in the mainland has been negatively impacted by the outbreak – originating in China’s Hubei province – of a novel coronavirus. Sales of welfare and sports lottery tickets were suspended during the Chinese New Year period, from January 22 to 31, but the authorities decided to extend the closure until February 9, as part of the efforts to reduce the risk of further spread of the coronavirus.
