Lottery sales in mainland China rose 24.4 percent in year-on-year terms to RMB34.1 billion (US$5.5 billion) in November, official data from the Ministry of Finance show.
Welfare lottery sales last month reached RMB18.2 billion, up by 18.8 percent from a year earlier. Sports lottery sales increased by 31.6 percent year-on-year to RMB15.9 billion.
Lottery sales were up in 28 provinces and cities in November, the exceptions being Gansu and Liaoning provinces and Beijing, according to the ministry’s data published this week.
Total lottery sales in Beijing reached RMB756.3 million in November, down by 11.1 percent from a year ago. Welfare lottery sales in China’s capital city were up by 7.2 percent year-on-year last month, but sports lottery sales dropped by 28.5 percent to RMB312.5 million.
Lottery sales in mainland China reached RMB346.2 billion during the first 11 months of 2014, an increase of 24.1 percent compared to the year-prior period.
Cumulative lottery sales are up in all provinces and cities in the January-November period when compared with a year earlier. Among them, Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong, Tianjin and Jiangsu are the markets showing the biggest growth so far this year.
Welfare lottery sales reached RMB186.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2014, up by 17.3 percent from a year ago. Sports lottery ticket sales grew at a much faster rate – 33 percent – reaching RMB159.8 billion.
