China’s Welfare and Sports Lotteries brought in ¥35.75bn (circa $5.53bn) in total revenue in January 2021, an increase of 31.4% from the same period last year according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
The Welfare Lottery ticket sales grew 18% year on year to ¥15.21bn last month. Meanwhile, Sports Lottery sales surged by 43.5% compared to January 2020’s numbers to ¥20.54bn.
Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that, in 2020, China’s lottery total revenue came in at ¥333.95bn (circa $51.68bn), down 20.9% year on year.
Revenue for the Welfare Lottery fell by 24.4% year on year to ¥144.49bn, while Sports Lottery sales declined by 17.9% to ¥189.46bn.
In December, lottery sales amounted to ¥36.51bn, down 10.8% year on year.
Under the country’s lottery management rules, money earned from the ticket sales will be used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects and prize winnings.