China lottery sales rise 4% in July

According to data posted by the Ministry of Finance of China, lottery sales in July reported a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, reaching a total of RMB33.76bn (US$5.13bn).

In July, sports lottery sales grew by 3.5% from the prior-year period to RMB16.34bn, whilst welfare lottery tickets experienced a rise of 4.8% to RMB17.42bn.

Combined sales for the two lottery systems during the first seven months of this year amounted to RMB237.88bn, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. Welfare lottery sales increased by 3.9% to reach about RMB123.53bn, while sales of sports lottery products rose by 7.0% to RMB115.24bn.

Sales were up in 18 of the 31 provinces and cities of mainland China authorised to sell lottery tickets. Beijing was one of the cities to experience a drop, as total lottery sales declined by 7% year-on-year in July.

On the other hand, Guangdong has maintained its position as the leading lottery market in mainland China with combined sales of welfare and sports lottery tickets up 2.2% from the year-prior, reaching a total of RMB23.30bn in the first seven months of 2017.