In an effort to crack down on the unauthorized sale of lottery tickets, authorities in mainland China have reportedly published updated rules designed to further clarify how players may legally enjoy games for the nation’s China Sports Lottery and China Welfare Lottery.

Regulations to apply from next month:

According to a Tuesday report from GGRAsia, the new set of regulations from China’s Finance Ministry were unveiled on Monday after being endorsed by the Civil Affairs Ministry as well as the giant nation’s State General Administration of Sport and are set to become effective from the first day of October.

Online sales remain illegal:

Reportedly described as an ‘amendment’ to current directives, the latest instructions specifically prescribe as illegal the ‘online sales of [China] Welfare Lottery tickets and [China] Sports Lottery tickets without authorization’ while pointing out that the Finance Ministry has not changed its stance on such activities since instituting an all out ban in 2015.

Foreign contests still banned:

GGRAsia reported that the alterations, which have been designed to simplify the process of buying lottery tickets offline, further codify a prohibition against the issuing and selling of entry into overseas contests. The new rules furthermore make it clear that all retailers must have first received suitable authorizations from the State Council and the Finance Ministry before selling tickets into the China Sports Lottery and the China Welfare Lottery.

Illegal sales ‘persisted’:

The state-owned Beijing Daily newspaper told GGRAsia on Tuesday that the online sale of lottery tickets in China ‘had persisted in some quarters’ despite the government’s previous institution of a ‘most rigorous ban’ on the practice. As an example, the publication detailed that some players have been using apps to illegally enjoy overseas games such as the Hong Kong Mark Six, which is run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and is only permitted within the borders of the former British enclave.