In 1989 a sports lottery was introduced in China for the first time in an attempt to raise funds for the 11th Asian Games. In 1994 the Sports Lottery Management Center under the State Physical Culture Administration was established and soon branch offices in provinces and cities were created. A nationwide lottery-selling network was established and sports lottery was brought under standardized management for its distribution, printing and allocations. The sports lottery is playing a more and more important role in raising sports funds. The Chinese soccer lottery, distributed for the 2002-2003 match seasons with total sales reaching 7.14 billion yuan, raised 2.5 billion yuan for the national public welfare fund and produced nearly 20,000 big prizes. In Beijing in 2003, the monthly sales of Beijing sports lottery exceeded 100 million yuan. The money was used for such things as the Nationwide Physical Fitness Program, to help China's western regions and less developed regions develop sports, and to supplement the budget of major sports tournaments.
