Sales of lottery tickets in China reached 104.09 billion yuan (US$15.54 billion) during the first eight months of the year, up 23 percent from one year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said Saturday.

Further, sales of welfare lotteries in the first eight months rose 25.5 percent to 60.64 billion yuan while sales of sports lotteries hit 43.45 billion yuan, up 19.7 percent year on year, said the statement posted on the website of the ministry.

In August alone, lottery sales across the country jumped 22.7 percent to 13.58 billion yuan.

According to China's Regulation on Lottery Management, the money raised through lotteries is divided into three parts: the jackpot, lottery management fees and lottery public funds.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2010)