land China’s state-run lottery sales increased by 5.5% in the first semester of 2017 in year-on-year terms, according to official data.

All lottery product sales accounted to RMB205.03bn (US$30.3bn), showing a significant increase compared to last year’s numbers.

Welfare lottery sales were up by 3.5% compared to the same period last year, exceeding RMB 100bn, whereas sports lottery sales increased over 7%, moving up to RMB 98 bn.

Both welfare and sports sales increased in 24 out of the 31 provinces that are allowed to sell tickets in mainland China. Guangdong remains the leading market in combined sales for the first six months of this year, experiencing a 0.4 % increase compared to the prior-year period.

Provinces that recorded a more sizeable growth in lottery ticket sales in the period include Hubei, Jiangxi, Chongqing and Fujian, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Finance.

Although total sales experienced a 0.3 fall last month, China’s mainland lottery continues to grow at a fast pace.