As Number-Draw and Instant-Win Lottery Sales Fall, China Imposes a "100 Million Yuan Cap" on First-Prize Winnings

China's lottery sales up 13.0% in January-August
Sports prediction lotteries up 37.9%; number-draw and instant-win sales down
First-prize winnings capped at 100 million yuan to boost smaller wins

The Chinese lottery market, which has relied on the World Cup boost, is facing a government-imposed cap on first-prize winnings.

Photo to help readers understand the article. Pexels

According to Chinese financial news outlet Economic Observer and China's Ministry of Finance, lottery sales in China totaled 478.431 billion yuan (about 95.3 trillion won) from January to August this year, up 13.0% (55.226 billion yuan, or about 11 trillion won) from the same period last year.

"Daily sales fall from 1 million won to 600,000 won"... The World Cup boom is over

Sports prediction lotteries, which ask players to predict the outcomes of sporting events, drove the growth. Sales of these lotteries rose 37.9% to 256.543 billion yuan (about 51.1 trillion won). Sales fluctuated sharply in line with the World Cup schedule. From January to May, before the World Cup began, lottery sales fell 4.7% to 250.896 billion yuan (about 50 trillion won). The Ministry of Finance attributed the decline to "a decrease in soccer matches ahead of the World Cup." In July, when the World Cup was underway, sales surged 68.6% to 87.571 billion yuan (about 17.4 trillion won), while sports lottery sales jumped 111.5%, more than doubling. Even in August, after the tournament ended, sales of sports prediction lotteries rose 53.9% to 36.81 billion yuan (about 7.3 trillion won).

By contrast, sales of other lotteries declined. From January to August, sales of number-draw lotteries fell 3.8% to 115.101 billion yuan (about 22.9 trillion won), while sales of instant-win tickets, which reveal immediately whether a purchaser has won, dropped 8.7% to 81.845 billion yuan (about 16.3 trillion won).

The effects of the end of the World Cup boom are now being felt on the ground. An employee at a lottery shop in Beijing told Economic Observer that "daily sales have fallen from 5,000 yuan (about 1 million won) to 3,000 yuan (about 600,000 won)." The employee added, "My pay this year is also down more than 10% from last year. We expected sales to rise significantly during the World Cup, but actual earnings fell short of expectations."

First-prize winnings capped at 100 million yuan... "The appeal of a huge jackpot is disappearing"

Chinese President Xi Jinping. AP-Yonhap News

Authorities have revised the prize structure to broaden the customer base for existing lotteries. For two major number-draw lottery games, the total first-prize winnings per draw have been capped at 100 million yuan (about 20 billion won). The aim is to prevent people from buying large quantities of tickets with the same numbers to claim huge prizes, while increasing the chances of winning smaller and medium-sized prizes. The number of tickets sold has risen since the changes were introduced. Meanwhile, the average amount spent per lottery ticket has fallen to 13.8 yuan (about 2,700 won), and high-value purchases in which the same numbers are bought 50 or more times have dropped 67.9% from before the changes. In other words, more people are buying tickets, but they are spending less per purchase.

However, the market response is mixed. A lottery consumer in Beijing said, "A policy that reduces the appeal of huge jackpots and attracts more small-scale buyers may help stabilize the market, but it could also accelerate the departure of loyal customers."

Experts told the outlet that "as the lottery market has relied on the temporary effects of sporting events, the competitiveness of existing products has weakened." They also pointed out that "number-draw lotteries are slow to update their products and lag in adopting digital technology, putting them increasingly out of reach of younger consumers." They called for a broader restructuring of the industry around instant-win and sports prediction lotteries, as well as public-interest goals, alongside the development of new products, the digitalization of sales, and better services for older customers, noting that short-term increases in prize money alone would not be enough to reverse the industry's long-term slump.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.