China: lottery sales jumped in March

Lottery sales reached RMB10.5billion (US$1.5billion) in March as the sector sees signs of recovery post Covid-19.

China.- Lottery sales in China rose during March after retailers re-opened following the Coronavirus crisis.

Beijing’s lottery operators reopened this week after a 105-day long closure period, making it the last region in China to resume operations.

According to figures released by China’s Ministry of Finance, lottery sales reached RMB10.5billion (US$1.5billion) in March.

This represents a 70 per cent year on year decline but a sharp increase from February, with revenues of just RMB1million.

Total sales over the first quarter of 2020 were down 64.5 per cent to RMB37.7billion, with sports lottery sales (RMB19.65b -65.7 per cent) maintaining their lead over the welfare lottery (RMB18.05b, -63.2 per cent) despite the mass cancellation of major sports events.

While early reports indicated that since the resumption of operations in Beijing sales have been slow, retailers are hopeful that the restart of Germany’s Bundesliga season later this month will help to drive sports lottery customers back to the shops.

China lottery sales had been suffering a decline since January when the lockdown began in the country.

China’s welfare and sports lottery are the only legal forms of gambling in the country.