China's lottery ticket sales surged 55.9 percent year on year to about 48.91 billion yuan (about 6.81 billion U.S. dollars) in July, data from the Ministry of Finance showed Thursday.

Sales of lottery tickets to support the welfare system stood at approximately 17.87 billion yuan last month, an increase of 44.3 percent or 5.49 billion yuan compared to a year earlier, the data revealed.

Lottery ticket sales to support the sports industry increased by 63.5 percent year on year to 31.04 billion yuan, the ministry said.

In the first seven months of 2023, sales of lottery tickets in China reached 322.8 billion yuan, up 51.2 percent year on year.

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