China lottery sales recover from Covid-19

Combined sales in the Sports and Welfare Lotteries reached RMB33.57 billion (US$4.79 billion) in June.

China.- Lottery sales in June were down by only 3.4 per cent year-on-year, marking a strong recovery to close to pre-pandemic levels.

Combined sales in the Sports and Welfare Lotteries reached RMB33.57 billion (US$4.79 billion) according to the Chinese Ministry of Finance – up from only 29.22 billion yuan (US$4.14 billion) in May.

Welfare Lottery sales totalled RMB15.29 billion (US$2.18 billion) in June, up from RMB14 billion (US$2 billion) in May.

Meanwhile, in the month in which professional football competitions resumed, Sports Lottery sales hit RMB18.26 billion (US$2.61 billion), up from RMB15.20 billion (US$2.17 billion) in May.

China suspended lottery sales in January for New Year celebrations and extended the suspension into February due to the spike in Covid-19 cases. In some markets, including Beijing, operations have yet to resume.

In the first six months of the year, Chinese lottery sales fell 41.7 per cent in comparison to the first half of 2021. Lottery revenue for H1 was RMB123.90 billion (US$$17.69 billion), including RMB59.29 billion (US$8.47bn) from the Welfare Lottery and RMB64.61 billion (US$9.23) from the Sports Lottery.