BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's lottery sales came in at 35.75 billion yuan (about 5.53 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up 31.4 percent from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.
Sales of welfare lottery tickets gained 18 percent year on year to about 15.21 billion yuan last month, while sports lottery sales jumped by 43.5 percent to about 20.54 billion yuan, the ministry said.
China's lottery sales came in at 333.95 billion yuan in 2020, down 20.9 percent year on year.
Under China's lottery management rules, money from ticket sales is used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects and prize winnings. Enditem