Chinas lottery revenue decreased by 4.6% in the eleventh month, as per a report published by the Ministry of Finance. The reduction was primarily attributed to the near-total disappearance of video lottery sales during the month.
Chinas lottery revenue declined to 360.4 billion yuan ($40.8 billion) in November from 377.77 billion yuan ($45.4 billion) in October. Sports lottery revenue decreased by 0.2% to 210.2 billion yuan, while welfare lottery revenue dropped by 10.1% to 150.2 billion yuan.
In sports lotteries, digital lottery sales rose by 10.3% to 98 billion yuan, making it the most sought-after lottery type. However, sports lottery sales fell by 11.4% to 96 billion yuan.
Meanwhile, instant lottery sales increased by 21.3% to 16 billion yuan. However, video lottery sales plummeted by 80.0% to just 16 million yuan.
In welfare lotteries, video lottery sales vanished entirely in November. Despite the growth of its core digital lottery sales channel to 131 billion yuan, it still pulled down total sales for the month.
Meanwhile, instant lottery sales reached 15.7 billion yuan, an increase of 1.2%. Among them, Keno lottery saw the most significant increase, with customer spending reaching 3.4 million yuan, higher than the 154,400 yuan in the same period last year.
In November, lottery sales increased year-over-year in 14 provinces, with Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Guizhou seeing the largest increases.
Chinas lottery revenue hit 297.44 billion yuan in November, a decline of 22% compared to 2019.
Welfare lottery sales totaled 129.22 billion yuan, down 25.1%, while sports lottery sales reached 168.22 billion yuan, down 19.4%.
The Chinese government declared in October 2020 that it would cease the sale of high-frequency lottery tickets, also known as instant-win lottery tickets, which will have a significant effect on the country’s lottery industry.
Beginning November 1 of last year, provincial lottery tickets were limited to high-frequency lottery, and the final high-frequency lottery will be gradually eliminated after the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
Sign up for the iGaming news newsletter.