China's lottery sales surge 59.3 pct in October

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's lottery ticket sales soared 59.3 percent year on year to 47.34 billion yuan (about 6.65 billion U.S. dollars) in October, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Sales of lottery tickets to support the country's welfare system reached 15.49 billion yuan last month, an increase of 40.9 percent, or about 4.5 billion yuan, compared to a year earlier, the data revealed.

Lottery ticket sales to support the sports industry increased 70.1 percent year on year to over 31.85 billion yuan, the ministry said.

In the first 10 months of 2023, sales of lottery tickets in China totaled 475.88 billion yuan, up 53 percent year on year.

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