BEIJING — Lottery sales dropped to 29.08 billion yuan ($4.47 billion) in September, down 9.8 percent year on year, official data showed on Nov 11.

Welfare lottery sales decreased by 11.3 percent to reach 15.5 billion yuan, while the sports lottery slipped 8.1 percent to 13.58 billion yuan, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced.

From January to September, 271.9 billion yuan in lottery tickets were sold, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7 percent.

Under lottery management rules, money from ticket sales must cover administrative fees and public welfare projects as well as the jackpot.

In April this year, the MOF banned unauthorized online lottery sales. The MOF said some Internet companies have been selling fake lottery tickets.

Online lottery sales must now be officially approved by authorities including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the General Administration of Sport and the MOF.