August sales of tickets for China’s official lottery system – the welfare lottery and the sports lottery – rose 13.1 percent, the country’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday.
Aggregate sales amounted to CNY35.07 billion (US$5.32 billion). Welfare lottery sales in August increased by 10 percent year-on-year to CNY17.47 billion, while sports lottery sales went up 16.4 percent to CNY17.59 billion, the ministry said.
During August, 26 provinces and regions saw growth in lottery sales, driven by demand in Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang, according to the ministry.
In the first eight months of the year, aggregate lottery sales went up 6.3 percent year-on-year to CNY273.85 billion, with sales of welfare lottery tickets and sports lottery tickets increasing by 4.6 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.
Under lottery management rules, money from lottery ticket sales must cover administrative fees, public welfare projects and prize money.
