BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's lottery ticket sales reached 31.98 billion yuan (about 4.74 billion U.S. dollars) in June, down 7.6 percent year on year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.
Sales of lottery tickets to support the welfare system came in at 13.08 billion yuan in June, up 16.5 percent from a year ago, the data showed.
Lottery tickets sold to support the sports industry stood at 18.9 billion yuan, down 19.2 percent year on year.
In the first six months, China's lottery ticket sales totaled 182.06 billion yuan, rising 2 percent year on year, according to the ministry.
Under China's lottery management rules, funds raised from ticket sales are used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects, and to fund prizes. ■
