China's lottery sales fall in September

BEIJING - China's lottery sales reached 35.85 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) in September, down by 1.5 percent from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets dropped by 11.1 percent year-on-year to 13.95 billion yuan in September, while sports lottery sales gained 5.8 percent to 21.9 billion yuan.

In the first nine months, lottery sales amounted to 230.68 billion yuan, down by 27 percent year-on-year.

Under China's lottery management rules, money from ticket sales goes to administrative expenses, public welfare projects, and prize winnings.