BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) — China\’s lottery ticket sales surged 52.7 percent year on year to about 50.02 billion yuan (about 6.92 billion U.S. dollars) in May, data from the Ministry of Finance showed Friday.
Sales of lottery tickets to support the welfare system stood at approximately 16.4 billion yuan last month, an increase of 24.7 percent or 3.25 billion yuan from a year earlier, the data revealed.
Lottery tickets sold to support the sports industry surged 71.4 percent year on year to 33.63 billion yuan, mainly driven by sports events and lottery games promotion, the ministry said.
In the first five months, sales of lottery tickets in China reached 225.17 billion yuan, up 50 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.