Sports betting to reach US$7.5 billion in China

During the FIFA World Cup, Sports Lottery participation has exceeded expectations and is on track to reach US$7.5 billion.

China.- The FIFA World Cup is close to an end after entering the round of eight but it has already made a huge contribution to sports betting in China. After the first two weeks of the tournament, nearly US$4billion were wagered and set the pace for the segment to reach around US$7.5 billion after the final game, scheduled for next July 15th.

The figure amounts to nearly a quarter of what was bet during the full year 2017 and was revealed by the Australian Financial Review. Furthermore, the US$4 billion is 300 per cent higher than that reached at the same stage during the 2014 World Cup.

Wagers were placed mainly at the China Sports Lottery, one of two authorised lotteries operated by the government, where players can win by predicting the outcomes of each match.

According to Shanghai Normal University’s Chinese lottery industry expert Li Gang, “sales are beyond everyone’s expectations and imaginations.” Gang added that “the wider use of social media is encouraging lottery sales. A lot of people also want to show off how they picked the right result by showing off amongst their WeChat friends.”