Society

China's lottery sales up 33 pct in first five months

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-20 10:51

BEIJING - China's lottery sales in the first five months rose 32.5 percent year-on-year to 83.69 billion yuan (about $12.88 billion), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Monday.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets during the period jumped 32.1 percent year-on-year to reach 48.53 billion yuan while sales of sports lottery tickets rose 33 percent year-on-year to 35.16 billion yuan.

In May alone, lottery sales reached 18.73 billion yuan, up 29.7 percent from the same period last year, the MOF said in a statement on its website.

According to China's Regulations on Lottery Management, funds generated through lotteries are divided into three parts: the jackpot, lottery management fees, and lottery public funds which should be spent as stipulated on financing social welfare causes.