China lottery sales gain 12.6 percent in May

China's lottery sales rose 12.6 percent year-on-year to 30.79 billion yuan ($5 billion) in May, according to Ministry of Finance figures, lead by the Welfare Lottery. Sales of welfare lottery tickets rose 16.2 percent to 17.65 billion yuan last month, while sports lottery sales rose 8.2 percent to 13.15 billion yuan. In the first five months of 2014, total lottery sales stood at 142.36 billion yuan ($22.9 billion), up 13.9 percent from a year earlier. Last year, total lottery sales topped 309 billion yuan, up 18.3 percent year on year.
Experts say lottery penetration and participation rates in China are the lowest in Asia, leaving room for extensive growth.