China Lottery Sales Rise 27.3% in September

China recorded lottery sales of RMB67.389 billion ($10.04 billion) in September, a 27.3% increase compared with the same month a year earlier, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance. The year-on-year rise amounted to RMB15.325 billion ($2.28 billion).

Despite the strong overall performance, growth varied across lottery products. Keno sales rose, while instant and video lottery revenues declined, showing that the monthly expansion was not consistent across all categories.

Sports Lottery Drives September Growth

Sports lottery sales reached RMB39.386 billion ($5.87 billion) in September, increasing by 73.1% year-on-year. The category accounted for 58.4% of the country’s total lottery sales during the month.

Sports lottery was therefore the largest contributor by sales among the reported categories, with its growth rate significantly exceeding the 27.3% increase across the overall market. The ministry’s report referenced the World Cup alongside the category’s performance.

The September figures cover monthly sales, while the ministry has also published separate data for sports and welfare lotteries covering the first nine months of the year.

Keno Grows as Instant and Video Lottery Sales Decline

Keno sales rose 19.5% year-on-year to RMB4.094 billion ($609.9 million) in September. Its growth was lower than both the increase in sports lottery sales and the rise in the national total.

Instant lottery sales, by contrast, dropped 14.9% to RMB9.967 billion ($1.49 billion).

Video lottery sales also fell, reaching RMB10 million ($1.5 million), down from RMB63 million ($9.4 million) in the same month last year, a decrease of RMB53 million ($7.9 million).

The contrasting results underline the uneven performance of individual products despite the broader growth in China’s lottery market.

Shandong Records the Largest Provincial Increase

Lottery sales increased in all provinces during September. Shandong posted the largest rise, with sales increasing by RMB1.6 billion ($238.4 million).

Henan followed with an increase of RMB1.43 billion ($213.1 million), while Zhejiang recorded growth of RMB1.16 billion ($172.8 million). Jiangsu’s sales increased by RMB1.05 billion ($156.5 million).

These figures represent year-on-year increases rather than the provinces’ total monthly sales. Growth across all 31 provinces indicates that the national expansion was widespread.

Sports Lottery Advances as Welfare Lottery Declines Over Nine Months

China’s lottery sales totalled RMB545.82 billion ($81.33 billion) between January and September, up 14.6% year-on-year. The increase amounted to RMB69.683 billion ($10.38 billion).

Sports lottery sales rose 25.7% to RMB397.721 billion ($59.26 billion) over the nine-month period. Welfare lottery sales moved in the opposite direction, falling 7.3% to RMB148.099 billion ($22.07 billion).

The cumulative figures highlight a clear difference between the two categories, with sports lottery sales continuing to grow while welfare lottery sales remained below the previous year’s level.