China lottery sales rise 27.3% in September

China’s lottery sales rose to US$10.04bn in September, with sports betting sales up 73.1 per cent.

China.- Chinese lottery sales rose 27.3 per cent year on year to RMB67.389bn (US$10.04bn) in September, according to the Ministry of Finance. Sales increased by RMB15.325bn (US$2.28bn). The ministry said the continued impact of the FIFA World Cup contributed significantly to the increase.

Sports lottery betting was the largest category, with sales of RMB39.386bn (US$5.87bn), up 73.1 per cent and accounting for 58.4 per cent of total sales. Keno sales rose 19.5 per cent to RMB4.094bn (US$609.9m). Instant lottery sales fell 14.9 per cent to RMB9.967bn (US$1.49bn), and video lottery sales by RMB10m (US$1.5m) to RMB53m (US$7.9m).

Sales rose in all 31 provinces. Shandong recorded the largest increase, at RMB1.6bn (US$238.4m), followed by Henan at RMB1.43bn (US$213.1m), Zhejiang at RMB1.16bn (US$172.8m) and Jiangsu at RMB1.05bn (US$156.5m).

From January to September, total lottery sales rose 14.6 per cent to RMB545.82bn (US$81.33bn), an increase of RMB69.683bn (US$10.38bn). Sports lottery sales were RMB397.721bn (US$59.26bn), up 25.7 per cent, while welfare lottery sales fell 7.3 per cent to RMB148.099bn (US$22.07bn).