China's lottery sales surge 58.3 pct in September

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's lottery ticket sales surged 58.3 percent year on year to top 52.77 billion yuan (about 7.35 billion U.S. dollars) in September, data from the Ministry of Finance shows.

Sales of lottery tickets to support the country's welfare system exceeded 18.21 billion yuan last month, an increase of 47.9 percent, or over 5.89 billion yuan, compared to a year earlier, the data has revealed.

Lottery ticket sales to support the sports industry increased 64.5 percent year on year to over 34.56 billion yuan, the ministry said.

Under China's lottery management rules, funds raised from ticket sales are used for administrative expenses and public welfare projects, and to fund prizes.