Economy

China's lottery sales jump 24.5% in Q1

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-02 11:36
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BEIJING: China's lotteries earned 34.62 billion yuan (US$5.07 billion) from January to March this year, up 24.5 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Finance said Saturday.

Sales of the Welfare Lottery in the first quarter totaled 20.2 billion yuan (US$2.96 billion) while Sports Lottery sales amounted to 14.42 billion yuan (US$2.11 billion), both representing an increase of 24.5 percent, according to ministry statistics.

In March alone, lottery sales across the country rose 15.7 percent year on year to 13.25 billion yuan (US$1.94 billion).

According to China's Regulations on Lottery Management, the money raised through lotteries is divided into three parts: the jackpot; lottery management fees; and lottery public funds.