China October lottery sales up 8.3%

Local residents purchase welfare lotteries in Yichang, Central China's Hubei province, Oct 2, 2016. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China's lottery sales rose 8.3 percent year on year to 33.827 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in October, the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets increased 6 percent year on year to 17.307 billion yuan in October, while sports lottery sales jumped 10.9 percent to 16.52 billion yuan, the ministry said in a statement.

October's lottery sales in Hunan province rose by 426 million yuan year on year, the largest increase nationwide, while Shandong, Hubei, Shaanxi and Henan provinces also posted large increases, the statement said.

In the first ten months of 2016, total lottery sales stood at 323.565 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

Under lottery management rules, money from ticket sales must cover administrative fees, public welfare projects and prize money.