Mainland China bans almost every form of gambling, but its state lottery keeps growing. According to figures released by the Ministry of Finance on 20 October 2026, national lottery sales in September rose 27.3% year on year to about $10.4 billion. The engine was the sports lottery, where sales jumped 73.1%. Over the first nine months of the year, sales reached roughly $81.33 billion, up 14.6%.
Fact box
- Who: China's two state lotteries, the China Sports Lottery and the China Welfare Lottery. Figures published by the Ministry of Finance.
- What: monthly national lottery sales.
- How much: about $10.4 billion in September (+27.3%). Sports lottery about $5.87 billion (+73.1%). Instant tickets about $1.49 billion (−14.9%). January–September about $81.33 billion (+14.6%).
- When: September 2026. Data released on 20 October 2026.
- Where: mainland China. All 31 provincial-level regions reported growth.
- Key point: the sports lottery alone accounted for more than half of all sales in the month.
The sports lottery takes the lead
The headline number is the sports lottery. Sales reached about $5.87 billion in September, up 73.1% on the same month last year. That is more than half of all lottery money spent in China during the month. The Ministry of Finance linked the growth to the lasting effect of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which ran in North America from June to July and drew huge interest in football betting products across the country.
The China Sports Lottery is the only legal way for mainland Chinese players to bet on sport. Its products include fixed-odds football and basketball games, number games and instant tickets. A major tournament brings new customers into its retail outlets, and the September figures suggest that many of them have kept playing after the final whistle. For a lottery that relies heavily on football, the start of the new European club season in August and September also helps.
The welfare lottery, which mainly sells number draws and instant tickets, makes up the rest. Based on the national total and the sports lottery figure, its sales were roughly $4.5 billion in September.
Instant tickets lose ground
Not every product grew. Sales of instant lottery tickets, the scratch cards sold by both lotteries, fell 14.9% to about $1.49 billion. Video lottery sales also declined. The drop in scratch cards is notable because they were one of the fastest-growing parts of the market in recent years, popular with younger buyers and often promoted on social media. The September numbers suggest that some of that spending has moved to sports products while football is in the spotlight.
Growth in every province
The increase was broad. All 31 of mainland China's provincial-level regions reported higher sales than a year earlier. The biggest year-on-year gains came from Shandong, with an increase of about $238.4 million, Henan with about $213.1 million, and Jiangsu with about $156.5 million. These are among China's most populous provinces and have long been among the largest lottery markets.
Nine months of steady growth
The September jump came on top of a solid year. From January to September 2026, national lottery sales totalled about $81.33 billion, up 14.6% on the same period of 2025. That puts the lottery on course for another very strong year. China's lottery sales reached a record of more than 617 billion yuan in 2024, and the pace this year suggests that level is well within reach again.
The Ministry of Finance publishes national lottery sales every month, usually a few weeks after the month ends. The September release came on 20 October, a few days before the ministry's wider report on public finances for the first three quarters of the year.
Cinemas asked to sell lottery tickets
The lottery is also being given new outlets. Chinese authorities have encouraged cinemas to diversify their business to make up for weak box office sales. The suggested activities include selling lottery tickets and hosting screenings of sports events. For cinema operators, it is a way to bring people through the door on days without a big film release. For the lotteries, it adds thousands of potential retail points in busy urban locations.
The one legal exception
The lottery's growth stands out because of how strictly China treats every other form of gambling. Casinos are banned on the mainland, and online betting with offshore operators is illegal. Authorities regularly crack down on cross-border gambling and the payment networks behind it. The only place in China where casinos are legal is Macau, a special administrative region with its own laws. Its recovery is tracked closely by investors, from analyst notes on monthly gaming revenue to record visitor numbers.
The welfare and sports lotteries are run by the state, and part of every ticket sold goes into public welfare funds. Those funds support social services, elderly care and sports development, which is a key reason the government promotes the lottery while banning private gambling.
What it means for…
- China's lottery operators: the World Cup has given the sports lottery a lasting boost, not just a one-month spike. The test will come in the months ahead, when there is no major international tournament to drive interest.
- Public finances: higher sales mean more money for the welfare funds that receive a share of every ticket. With sales up 14.6% through September, those contributions should rise this year as well.
- The global betting industry: the September figures confirm how much demand for sports betting exists in China, even in a strictly controlled market. Big tournaments drive betting everywhere, as the record US handle around Spain's World Cup win showed, and China's state lottery is clearly benefiting from the same trend.
What happens next
The October figures, due from the Ministry of Finance in November, will show whether the sports lottery can keep its momentum without a World Cup. If it does, and the cinema initiative adds new sales points, China's lottery is heading for one of its strongest years on record.
