BEIJING — China extracted 133.9 billion yuan (about $18.9 billion) from lottery sales and unclaimed prize money for public welfare spending in 2018, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Under China's lottery management rules, the public welfare lottery fund is collected in different ratios from different types of lottery sales and is distributed between central and local governments.

The central government spent 58.6 billion yuan from the fund last year, the MOF said on its website.

The money was used to supplement the social security fund and support public welfare projects in various fields, including education, medical aid, elderly services, poverty reduction, culture, sports and facilities for disadvantaged groups.

China's total lottery sales in 2018 stood at 511.5 billion yuan, up 19.9 percent year-on-year.