Access Asia has published this updated report on lotteries and organised gambling in China as part of the China Contact Market Research report series. The report covers the market and current state of development of the lotteries sector.
Gambling in China is effectively a national pastime. Despite the fact that few lotteries exist and virtually no other legalised gambling is permitted there are indications that the market will grow and flourish. Indeed, lotteries, in the form of what is now called Keno, was first played in China 3,000 years ago to fund the building of the Great Wall. The first recorded lottery in Chinese history dates back to the Tang Dynasty and lotteries continued to occur sporadically until 1886 when the Chinese government decided that lotteries where a similar to robbery and prostitution and banned them. However, gambling continued throughout the country on a small scale and casinos flourished in the Treaty Ports and the International Settlement of Shanghai. This Access Asia report covers the emerging market for lotteries in Mainland China. The report covers the major lotteries in operation throughout the country, their governing bodies and provincial organising committees. This report covers the three types of lottery currently operating in China. The first is the traditional type that involves issuing a fixed number of tickets with a pre-printed number on each ticket. The prize is pre-set and the winners are made public later via noticeboards and TV shows. This form of lottery utilises uniform printing, code numbers and a fixed number of sales points. The second type are the form of lottery where buyers know the result on the spot. This is the fastest growing form of lottery in China due to its ‘instant win’ nature. These lotteries are normally supported by large-scale sales and advertising promotions. The third type of lottery is the sale of computer-linked lottery tickets. This is the most recent form of lottery in China. With this form of lottery, tickets are sold and winning the lottery is decided by whether the buyers’ numbers coincide with those drawn by lot.