Lottery sales in China reached CNY52.95 billion (£595.0 million/€684.3 million/$724.6 million) in August, up 53.6% year-on-year.

China’s Finance Ministry said the overall growth was due to the introduction of new instant lottery tickets and an increase in large-scale events.

This was also a 10.1% increase compared to July, when revenue was CNY48.09 billion.

Sports lottery revenue was CNY34.31 billion in August, growing 57.4% year-on-year. The remaining revenue came from the Chinese Welfare Lottery, which contributed CNY 18.64 billion, an increase of 47.1%.

Between January and August, total lottery sales reached CNY 375.76 billion, an increase of 51.6% compared to the same period in 2022.

Sales by type

Instant lottery revenue increased significantly by 150.7% to CNY 12.03 billion.

Sales also increased at Lotto Digital and betting. Lotto Digital generated revenue of CNY 15.30 billion, up 14.8%, while betting generated revenue of CNY 22.15 billion, up 61.2%. Meanwhile, Keno lottery sales also rose, rising 32.8% to CNY34.62 billion.

Video lottery ticket sales accounted for CNY 180,000, an annual increase of 16.0%.

The ministry noted that lottery sales increased in all regions in August compared to August 2022.

Guangdong Province recorded the highest sales for the month at CNY5.61 billion. This was followed by the Zhejiang region with CNY 4.21 billion and the Jiangsu region with CNY 4.13 billion.