China's lottery sales pick up steam

BEIJING - China's lottery ticket sales rose 21.1 percent year on year to 28.56 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

The growth rate quickened from March's 15.9-percent pace and a contraction of 16.6 percent logged in February, the ministry's data show.

The ministry attributed the jump to new lottery games going on sale, the promotion of quiz-style games and more outlets for online lottery games.

Last month, welfare lottery sales reached 15.61 billion yuan, a rise of 16.9 percent compared to the same period last year, while sales of sports lottery tickets gained 26.7 percent to 12.95 billion yuan.

In the first four months of 2013, total lottery sales increased 16.5 percent year on year to 97.62 billion yuan.

Welfare lottery sales rose 14.9 percent from a year earlier during the January-April period, while sports lottery sales climbed 18.6 percent, according to the ministry.

The money raised through lotteries is divided into three parts under the country's regulations on lottery management: the jackpot, lottery management fees and public lottery funds.