China's welfare lottery sales hit 50.16 billion yuan (7.74 billion U.S. dollars) as of June 5 this year, up 30.61 percent year-on-year, the Welfare Lottery Distribution and Management Center said on Thursday.

The center said that this year's welfare lottery sales are expected to exceed 100 billion yuan, compared with last year's total sales of 90.4 billion yuan.

The lottery raised more than 15.2 billion yuan for public welfare funding, the center's statistics showed.

Half of the country's public welfare funds go to China's treasury, while the other half is disbursed to local governments across the country. The funds are then allocated to social welfare programs and charities.

Computerized lottery sales hit 34.44 billion yuan, accounting for 68.66 percent of the total, up 16 percent year-on-year, according to the center's statistics.

China's welfare lottery program started in 1987, when the Civil Affairs Ministry was authorized by the State Council, or China's cabinet, to raise welfare funds through lottery sales.