Sales of official lottery tickets in China were up by 19.2 percent year-on-year in August, to CNY41.82 billion (US$6.09 billion), according to data released this week by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
Welfare lottery ticket sales in August increased slightly by 1.8 percent compared to the prior-year period, to CNY17.78 billion. Sales of sports lottery tickets in the month rose by 36.6 percent year-on-year to CNY24.03 billion.
Sales of lottery ticket totalled CNY341.66 billion in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 24.8 percent from a year earlier. Welfare lottery sales were up by 4.6 percent to CNY147.49 billion, while sales of sports lottery tickets grew by 46.2 percent year-on-year to CNY194.17 billion.
According to the official data, 27 out of the 31 provinces and municipalities of mainland China authorised to sell lottery tickets showed an increase in sales last month.
Guangdong continues to be the leading lottery market in mainland China. Sales of lottery tickets in the province amounted to CNY31.84 billion in the eight months to August 31, up 19.1 percent year-on-year.
Guangdong was followed by Jiangsu province, where lottery ticket sales totalled CNY29.53 billion in the January to August period, up 33.7 percent from a year earlier. Shandong province in eastern China was ranked third, with a total of CNY26.25 billion in lottery ticket sales, an increase of 20.0 percent compared to the prior-year period, according to the data released this week.
