Sales of lottery tickets in Mainland China have jumped by 9.6% in April 2017 when compared to the same period last year, new data from China’s Ministry of Finance reveals. According to the numbers posted this week by the Ministry, the total

According to the numbers posted this week by the Ministry, the total lottery sales reached CNY 38.24 billion (US $5.5 billion) in April, of which CNY 19.52 billion (US $2.84 billion) were generated by sport lottery sales, which jumped by 15.2% year on year, and CNY 18.72 billion (US $ 2.72 billion) by welfare lottery sales, which rose by 4.3% during the period.

When compared to last year’s numbers in April, in 2017 there was an increase in sales in 25 out of the 31 provinces and direct-controlled municipalities of Mainland China where lotteries are authorized by the government. Some of the strongest sales were observed in the Hubei, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, as well as the Guandong province, where sales went up by 8.6% in April, year on year.

Numbers for the first four months of the year were also posted by the Ministry and they show a 6.2% increase in combined lottery sales when compared to last year, amounting to a total of CNY 133.49 billion (US $19.45 billion). During the said period, welfare lottery ticket sales generated a total of CNY 70.06 billion (US $10.2 billion), while sport lottery tickets amounted to CNY 63.43 billion (US $9.2 billion).

The Guandong province, which borders Honk Kong, once again had the biggest combined sale of sports lottery and welfare tickets during January-April, generating CNY 12.9 billion (US $1.8 billion) in 2017, or 2.7% more than last year. The second spot was taken by the Shandong province, where total sales amounted to CNY 10.76 billion (US $1.56 billion), or 7.1% more than last year, followed by the Jiangsu province at the third spot, where ticket sales generated a total of CNY 10.4 billion (US $1.51 billion), or 4.3% more than the first four months of 2016.