BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China's lottery sales declined 0.3 percent year on year to 33.84 billion yuan (about 5.02 billion U.S. dollars) in June, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Sales of welfare lottery tickets increased 8.8 percent year on year to 17.82 billion yuan last month, while sports lottery sales dropped 8.9 percent to 16.02 billion yuan, the ministry said.
Last month, 16 provinces and regions saw growth in lottery sales, including Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Henan and Tibet, according to the ministry.
In the first six months, lottery sales went up 5.5 percent to 205.03 billion yuan.
Among them, sales of welfare lottery tickets increased 3.7 percent year on year to 106.11 billion yuan, while sports lottery sales rose 7.6 percent to 98.92 billion yuan.
Under Chinese lottery management rules, money from lottery ticket sales must cover administrative fees, public welfare projects and prize money.
