A move towards being able to play the lottery on mobile phones would be a logical move for the Chinese government, however.

One of the big problems for the existing lottery, which has been running for 22 years, is the relatively small number of participants.

Last year, China's lottery amassed revenues of just US$15.6 billion (105.1 billion yuan), compared to an estimated US$45 billion (300 billion yuan) spent on illegal lotteries and around US$150 billion (1.03 trillion yuan) spent in total on illegal forms of betting.

It is estimated that only 18 percent of China's 1.3 billion people have ever played the lottery and the fact that there are 500 million mobile phone users in China would considerably widen the access.

Newman at GLC, which has offices in San Diego, Vancouver, London and Hong Kong, said he believes cellular is a potential way forward for China.

"The key advantage would be speed, ease and the fact that almost everyone has got a cellphone. There are real problems in such a vast country of doing it through retail outlets since it is immensely expensive," he said.

Tang Namei, a 25-year-old financial manager who lives in Shenzhen and is a regular lottery player, said she would welcome other distribution channels to play the lottery.

"I would play the lottery on my mobile phone if I was too busy to go and buy a ticket because it would be more convenient," she said.

Some such as Huang Yi, 27, a bank accountant from Luxian County in Sichuan Province, would still prefer the security of a paper ticket.

"I don't like the idea of playing the lottery on my mobile phone because I like the security and certainty of being able to hold onto a ticket," he said.

China issued the first license for a welfare lottery in 1987 and a second one for sports in 1994.

Wang, who studied gaming management at the University of Nevada in Reno and is involved in drafting China's Lottery Act, said she believes that if China's lottery is to grow and develop it needs the right regulatory framework in place.

"If the lottery is to grow, much depends on the policy of the government. Sometimes decisions can be taken overnight which are not based on either the industry's or the market's needs and there is a need for a much longer term approach," she said.

"If there are the right laws in place, people feel confident playing the lottery and this leads to greater consumer confidence among players," she said.

The lottery has been a consistent revenue earner for the government. The sports lottery, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this month, provided US$400 million (2.75 billion yuan) toward last year's Beijing Olympics. It has also funded 8,728 park-based fitness areas, 132 fitness centers and 12 sports parks under China's national fitness program.

Wang Jun, deputy director of the China General Administration of Sport, said it had made a major contribution to sports.

"Without the public welfare fund from the sports lottery, we won't be having such excellent fitness facilities for the ordinary citizens in such a short time," he said.

"It serves as a strong impetus in our effort to let ordinary Chinese do exercise and keep healthy."