China lottery sales up 18.6% in February

Authorities reported that Chinese lottery sales for February reached CNY22.48bn (US$3.54bn).

China.- China’s Ministry of Finance has reported that lottery sales totalled CNY22.48bn (US$3.54bn) in February, up 18.6 per cent year-on-year. However, compared to January, the figure was down 27.2 per cent.

Authorities attributed the year-on-year increase to several factors, including the first round of football’s UEFA Champions League. Lottery draw sales accounted for CNY9.07bn, down 7.7 per cent year-on-year while income from betting and prediction games was CNY7.01bn, up 31.2 per cent when compared to the previous year.

Instant game revenue was CNY4.94bn, a year-on-year increase of 58.1 per cent and keno sales contributed CNY1.44bn, up 124 per cent. Sports lottery sales accounted for CNY13.09bn in total revenue, an increase of 17.9 per cent year-on-year, and welfare lottery revenue was CNY9.38bn, an increase of 19.7 per cent from February 2021.

In this segment, betting and prediction games accounted for CNY7.10bn, instant games generated CNY2.21bn and video lottery sales added CNY3.86bn.