BEIJING, Jul 4 (ABC): China’s lottery ticket sales rose 8.5 percent year on year to about 32.77 billion yuan (about 4.9 billion U.S. dollars) in May, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.
Sales of lottery tickets to support the welfare system came in at 13.14 billion yuan in May, up 16.1 percent from a year ago, the data showed. Lottery tickets sold to support the sports industry stood at 19.62 billion yuan, an increase of 3.9 percent year on year.
In the first five months, China’s lottery ticket sales totaled 150.08 billion yuan, rising 4.3 percent year on year, according to the ministry. Under China’s lottery management rules, funds raised from ticket sales are used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects, and to fund prizes.