China Welfare Lottery $15.9 billion in annual sales

12/11/2012 : CHINA'S WELFARE LOTTERY BOOMS
 
$15.9 billion in annual sales
 
Annual sales of China's welfare lottery tickets distributed through computerised channels reached  $15.9 billion by December 8, the lottery management authorities said Monday.
 
A 19.99 percent year-on-year increase, the figure makes up 72 percent of the total sales of welfare lottery tickets so far this year, according to the Welfare Lottery Distribution and Management Center under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
 
Along with instant games, the computerised welfare lottery has helped raise more than 33.3 billion yuan for the public lottery fund in 2012, the publication China Daily reports.
 
The lottery was launched in China in 1995. People from coastal regions including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Liaoning and Zhejiang play computerised lotteries the most, according to official statistics.