China lottery sales up 7.8 percent in May

China’s lottery sales rose 7.8 percent year-on-year to RMB 34.6 billion (US$5.2 billion) in May, according to the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

In a statement from the government ministry, Welfare lottery sales increased 1.8 percent year-on-year to RMB 18.4 billion, while sports lottery sales soared 15.6 percent to RMB 16.3 billion.

As a result, the first five months of 2016 saw total lottery sales up 0.5 percent year-on-year.

Euro 2016 is expected to further boost sports lottery sales in the upcoming month.