China’s lottery sales up 11 pct for November

In China, a rise in sports lottery sales reportedly helped overall lottery revenues from sales on the mainland for November increase by some 10.8% year-on-year to reach about CNY42.72 billion (US$6.20 billion).

Slight uptick:

According to a report from GGRAsia citing official data from the Asian nation’s Ministry of Finance, last month’s reported growth was aided by a 20.1% year-on-year augmentation in sports lottery business, to CNY23.00 billion. China Welfare Lottery sales saw a 1.6% uptick from the same time last year, totaling CNY19.72 billion.

Combined sales for China’s two official lotteries, the welfare lottery and the sports lottery, during this year’s first 11 months saw a 21.0% year-on-year increase, amounting to CNY468.45 billion. Sales in the welfare lottery reached approximately CNY305.95 billion, a rise of 3.9% year-on-year, while sports lottery product sales saw a significant increase rising by 38.7% to CNY264.50 billion.

Guangdong still leader:

Of mainland China’s 31 cities and provinces authorized for lottery ticket sales, 24 of them saw increased sales in November. Mainland China’s biggest earner (single-province market) for lottery products remained static as Guangdong Province reached  CNY44.55 billion in lottery ticket sales from January through November this year, an increase of 16.4% from the year prior.

Shandong province followed Guangdong, with lottery ticket sales of CNY36.88 billion, which was a 21.4% rise from the same period last year. With ticket sales of nearly CNY 34.27 billion for the first 11 months of the year, Zhejiang province ranked third, reporting a 28.2% swell from the year prior, according to the report of the official data.

Effort to reduce red tape:

Regulations regarding the East Asian nation’s official lottery were updated by authorities in mainland China in August. Effective from October 1, 2018, the effort, according to what several experts researching the industry reportedly told GGRAsia, is for a reduction in red tape to authorize offline sales of lottery products.

However, it remains uncertain whether or not a suspension regarding the online sales of official lottery products, which has been in place since 2015, will be lifted by Chinese authorities.