China's lottery sales up 12.6 pct

China's lottery sales rose 12.6 percent year on year to 30.79 billion yuan (5 billion U.S. dollars) in May, new data showed on Friday.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets rose 16.2 percent year on year to 17.65 billion yuan last month, while sports lottery sales rose 8.2 percent to 13.15 billion yuan, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

In the first five months of 2014, total lottery sales stood at 142.36 billion yuan, up 13.9 percent from a year earlier.

Money raised through lotteries is used for the jackpot, management fees and public welfare, under China's lottery management rules.

Last year, total lottery sales topped 309 billion yuan, up 18.3 percent year on year, the ministry's data showed.