Yearly sales of China Welfare Lottery tickets hit 60.3 billion
yuan (8.15 billion U.S. dollars) as of Friday, up 29 percent
year-on-year, the country's lottery watchdog said on Sunday.
The sales have raised nearly 20.7 billion yuan for the country's
public welfare, said a China Welfare Lottery Management Center
spokesman.
Half the money has been turned over to central government
coffers. The remainder was used for social welfare purposes, mainly
for the social security fund to cover its deficit.
As China's first lottery launched in June 1987, sales of the
tickets represented 63 percent of the country's entire lottery
market.
Lottery sales were one of the major sources of fund raising for
sports facilities and the country's social welfare programs.
Despite this, gambling was illegal in China.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Welfare Lottery
had raised a total of 242.3 billion yuan over the past two decades,
of which 80.9 billion yuan was given to the national public welfare
fund.
It said the fund was mainly used for the development of social
welfare facilities, education and health care for orphans, the
elderly and the disabled. More than 10 million people have
benefited from the fund, according to the ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2007)