Poor gamble as lottery lures low income workers

Low income workers are the biggest group of people who buy lottery tickets, a survey conducted by Beijing News reports.

Hu Lijun, who runs a lottery station near Anzhenmen in Beijing, confirmed the findings and said migrant workers are the major group of lottery buyers at his outlet.

However, for some, the lust for a cash prize spirals out of control.

Duan Bin, 22, came to Beijing for work four years ago. He resigned in February this year and spent the whole spring and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,589) there. It was a lot of money for him. He earned an annual salary of 7,200 yuan when he first came to Beijing.

"Lots of people spend more on lottery than me," he said of his gamble,

When he first began buying lottery tickets he couldn't believe the good luck in the first weeks. One prize of 4,000 yuan and another 2,000 yuan.

His lucky streak ended, but that hasn't stopped him buying tickets. "Whenever I pass by a lottery station, I can't move."

A recent survey conducted by Beijing Normal University found that of the nation's 200 million lottery players, seven million are addicts aged between 18 and 45, with a monthly income ranging from 1,500 yuan ($238) to 3,000 yuan.