China's lotteries earned 34.62 billion yuan (5.07 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March this year, up 24.5 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Finance said Saturday.

Sales of the Welfare Lottery in the first quarter totaled 20.2 billion yuan (2.96 billion U.S. dollars) while Sports Lottery sales amounted to 14.42 billion yuan (2.11 billion U.S. dollars), both representing an increase of 24.5 percent, according to ministry statistics.

In March alone, lottery sales across the country rose 15.7 percent year on year to 13.25 billion yuan (1.94 billion U.S. dollars).

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.