China's lottery ticket sales rose 1.4 percent year on year to 423.2 billion yuan (about 59.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of the year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Sales of lottery tickets that support the country's welfare system reached about 142.31 billion yuan in the first eight months, marking an increase of 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

Lottery ticket sales that are related to the sports industry rose 1.4 percent year on year to 280.89 billion yuan during the period, the ministry said.

In August, 53.4 billion yuan worth of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, down 1.8 percent year on year.

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