China's lottery ticket sales reached 41.81 billion yuan (about 6.08 billion U.S. dollars) in February, up 86 percent year on year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Sales of lottery tickets to support the welfare system came in at 13.53 billion yuan in February, an increase of 44.2 percent from a year ago.

Lottery tickets sold to support the sports industry rose by 115.9 percent year on year to 28.28 billion yuan.

The ministry attributed the stellar increase to a lower comparison base and more sports betting events compared with the same period last year.

In the first two months, China's lottery ticket sales totaled 75.03 billion yuan, up 40.8 percent over the same period last year, the data showed.

Under China's lottery management rules, funds raised from ticket sales are used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects and to fund prizes.