China lottery sales could hit zero in February

January lottery revenues fell 43% with February set to be even worse as the Coronavirus crisis deepens.

China.- China lottery sales suffered a staggering 43.3% year-on-year drop in January amid fears the revenues could hit zero in February.

According to China’s Ministry of Finance, lottery sales fell to RMB27.2 billion, (€3.5 billion), with welfare lottery sales down 39.3 percent and sports lottery down 46.4 percent.

January’s overall sales decline is a consequence of the shutdown of most lottery operations on January 22 to observe the annual Spring Festival celebrations.

The shutdown was supposed to end on January 31 but was initially extended to February 9 as a measure to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

Given the Coronavirus crisis in China, the shutdown is still in place and means that February lottery revenues will likely be zero.

This would be an unprecedented situation, similar to Macau’s casinos recording a nearly 88% drop in February’s gaming revenue following the government-ordered 15-day shutdown of gaming operations.

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