China's lottery sales in January rose 26.1 percent year on year to 16.01 billion yuan (about 2.44 billion U.S. dollars), according to figures released Friday by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Sales of welfare lottery tickets jumped 23.8 percent to 9.32 billion yuan while sales of sports lottery tickets rose 29.4 percent to 6.69 billion yuan, the MOF said in a statement on its website.

The surge in sales comes as new quiz-type lottery games were marketed and sold in more provinces and cities across China, the statement said.

According to China's Regulations on Lottery Management, the money raised through lotteries is divided into three parts: the jackpot, lottery management fees, and lottery public funds.