Ministry of Finance: In August, lottery sales nationwide totaled 63.985 billion yuan, up 19.8% year on year.

On September 22, the Ministry of Finance released the national lottery sales for August. Data showed that in August, nationwide lottery sales totaled 63.985 billion yuan, an increase of 10.584 billion yuan year on year, or 19.8%, mainly because the boost to sports betting lottery sales from the FIFA World Cup continued. Among them, welfare lottery agencies sold 15.809 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.465 billion yuan year on year, or 8.5%; sports lottery agencies sold 48.176 billion yuan, an increase of 12.049 billion yuan year on year, or 33.4%. The original text is as follows: National Lottery Sales in August 2026 I. National Lottery Sales In August, nationwide lottery sales totaled 63.985 billion yuan, an increase of 10.584 billion yuan year on year, or 19.8%, mainly because the boost to sports betting lottery sales from the FIFA World Cup continued. Among them, welfare lottery agencies sold 15.809 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.465 billion yuan year on year, or 8.5%; sports lottery agencies sold 48.176 billion yuan, an increase of 12.049 billion yuan year on year, or 33.4%. In the cumulative period from January to August, nationwide lottery sales totaled 478.431 billion yuan, an increase of 55.226 billion yuan year on year, or 13.0%. Among them, welfare lottery agencies sold 131.529 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.782 billion yuan year on year, or 7.6%; sports lottery agencies sold 346.901 billion yuan, an increase of 66.009 billion yuan year on year, or 23.5%. II. Lottery Sales by Type In August, lotto digital lottery sales were 14.982 billion yuan, a decrease of 61 million yuan year on year, or 0.4%; sports betting lottery sales were 36.810 billion yuan, an increase of 12.899 billion yuan year on year, or 53.9%; instant lottery sales were 8.765 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.956 billion yuan year on year, or 18.2%; keno lottery sales were 3.428 billion yuan, a decrease of 298 million yuan year on year, or 8.0%. In August, lotto digital, sports betting, instant, and keno lottery sales accounted for 23.4%, 57.5%, 13.7%, and 5.4% of total lottery sales, respectively. Video lottery sales were 530,000 yuan, an increase of 230,000 yuan compared with the same period last year. In the cumulative period from January to August, lotto digital lottery sales were 115.101 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.493 billion yuan year on year, or 3.8%; sports betting lottery sales were 256.543 billion yuan, an increase of 70.459 billion yuan year on year, or 37.9%; instant lottery sales were 81.845 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.804 billion yuan year on year, or 8.7%; keno lottery sales were 24.937 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.939 billion yuan year on year, or 10.5%. From January to August, lotto digital, sports betting, instant, and keno lottery sales accounted for 24.1%, 53.6%, 17.1%, and 5.2% of total lottery sales, respectively. Video lottery sales were 4.01 million yuan, an increase of 2.79 million yuan year on year. III. Lottery Sales by Region In August, compared with the same period last year, lottery sales in all 31 provinces across the country achieved positive growth. Among them, Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Guangdong had relatively large increases, rising by 1.16 billion yuan, 1.06 billion yuan, 820 million yuan, and 780 million yuan year on year, respectively. In the cumulative period from January to August, compared with the same period last year, except for Chongqing, lottery sales in the other 30 provinces across the country all achieved positive growth. Among them, Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, and Zhejiang had relatively large increases, rising by 4.59 billion yuan, 4.57 billion yuan, 4.54 billion yuan, and 4.07 billion yuan year on year, respectively. This article is excerpted from the official website of the "Ministry of Finance." GMTEight editor: Jiang Yuanhua.