Chinese Lottery Sales Fall 20.8% in 2020

Chinese lottery sales declined 20.8% to CNY333.95bn (€42.31bn) in 2020, following a collapse in activity in the first quarter as the country dealt with the Covid-19 crisis.

This total was made up of CNY144.48bn from the Welfare Lottery, a 24.5% decrease. The Sports Lottery’s contribution fell 17.9% to CNY189.64bn.

Of the Welfare Lottery revenue, the vast majority came from numbers lotteries, which brought in CNY122.14bn, down 7.5%.

Instant win games were more resilient, bringing in CNY14.64bn, down just 2.1% from 2019, while Keno revenue increased despite the effects of the pandemic, to CNY910.9m.

Video lottery, however, saw revenue collapse due to extended closures, with the vertical bringing in just CNY679.3m, down 84.8%.

Breaking down Sports Lottery revenue, numbers games made up the majority of revenue, as sales from this vertical increased by 4.7% CNY99.77bn. Sports betting followed, bringing in CNY74.92bn, but this was down 38.6%.

Instant win games, meanwhile, saw sales of CNY 14.77bn, up 8.7%. Sales from video sports lotteries – always only a minor contributor to total sales – fell 38.9% to CNY1.5m.