China's September lottery sales rise 27.3% to RMB67.39bn as sports lottery jumps 73.1%

China's lottery sales rose 27.3% year on year in September to RMB67.389 billion, equivalent to $10.04 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance. The increase amounted to RMB15.325 billion, or $2.28 billion, compared with the same month a year earlier.

Sports lottery was the largest category. It generated RMB39.386 billion ($5.87 billion), up 73.1% and equal to 58.4% of the month's total sales. The ministry's report linked the strong performance to the World Cup. Sports betting growth far outpaced the 27.3% rise across the overall market.

Other products moved differently. Keno sales grew 19.5% to RMB4.094 billion ($609.9 million), a rate below both the sports figure and the national total. Instant lottery sales fell 14.9% to RMB9.967 billion ($1.49 billion). Video lottery sales also declined, with the report giving a figure of RMB10 million ($1.5 million) for the decline and September sales of RMB53 million ($7.9 million).

All 31 provinces recorded higher lottery sales in September. Shandong posted the largest increase at RMB1.6 billion ($238.4 million), followed by Henan at RMB1.43 billion ($213.1 million), Zhejiang at RMB1.16 billion ($172.8 million) and Jiangsu at RMB1.05 billion ($156.5 million). These figures represent increases in sales rather than each province's total monthly sales.

For January to September, total lottery sales reached RMB545.82 billion ($81.33 billion), up 14.6%, or RMB69.683 billion ($10.38 billion). Sports lottery sales for the period totalled RMB397.721 billion ($59.26 billion), a rise of 25.7%. Welfare lottery sales declined 7.3% to RMB148.099 billion ($22.07 billion), showing a clear split between the two segments over the nine months.