Jul 02, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
A government minister in mainland China has called on those administering the country’s state-sanctioned lotteries to “correct every wrongdoing” uncovered by a recent audit report, said Xinhua, an official Chinese news agency.
“Any misuse and waste of welfare lottery funds has not lived up to the trust of lottery buyers or society, and has damaged the image of the Party and the government,” said Li Liguo, civil affairs minister, referring latterly to the ruling Communist Party of China.
China’s National Audit Office said in a report made public on June 25 that as much as RMB16.9 billion (US$2.72 billion) in lottery funds – a quarter of the takings audited – was unaccounted for out of RMB65.8 billion received from the public across 18 provinces in periods covering 2012 to 2014.
No single body is responsible for administering all the activities of China’s two authorised lottery systems – the welfare lottery and its younger sibling the sports lottery. China’s lotteries are managed by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the General Administration of Sport. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is mainly in charge of the welfare lottery, reported Xinhua.
Mr Li urged those lotteries under the Ministry of Civil Affairs to “introspect and correct every wrongdoing uncovered by the audit.”
The ministry also announced a five-month campaign to make the nation’s biggest lottery game more transparent following the embezzlement scandal, said Xinhua.
The campaign is said to want to focus on regulating sales of welfare lottery tickets, including checking loopholes in management of funds generated by the lottery and improving supervision over the drawing of lotto numbers, reported the news agency.
Probes into the lottery industry in mainland China have led to the temporary suspension of online sales of lottery tickets.
On April 3, eight Chinese central government agencies issued a joint public announcement ordering the suspension of online sales of lottery tickets. They also demanded provincial governmental authorities “investigate and sanction unauthorised online lottery sales in their respective jurisdictions”.
There is still no official word on when the temporary suspension of online lottery sales will be lifted.
Sep 09, 2020
Jan 06, 2020
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 07, 2023
Chinese government policies relevant to investors and consumers might “turn more positive” if the country’s economic-growth momentum “continues to weaken”, says a note from...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We’ve said we want to grow EBITDA ... to US$1.4 billion in 2025. And we have a really high level of conviction about getting there”
Matt Wilson
Chief executive of casino equipment provider Light & Wonder