China’s two state-owned national lotteries struggled for growth in August 2021 as total lottery sales decreased to RMB32.61bn (€4.37bn).

After seven consecutive months of year-on-year growth, lottery sales declined by 6 per cent in August as Welfare Lottery sales fell by 14 per cent to RMB11.45bn.

Sports Lottery sales also fell in August, declining 2 per cent compared to a year ago to RMB21.16bn.

In August, a total of 10 Chinese provinces saw lottery sales increase compared to the same period last year, with the biggest growth achieved in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Henan and Hunan.

For the first eight months of 2021, total lottery sales in China increased by 27 per cent to RMB247.29bn, with the start of the comparable period last year impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Welfare Lottery sales were up by 3 per cent at RMB90.41bn during the period, while Sports lottery sales grew 47 per cent year-on-year to RMB156.89bn.

Gaming Intelligence