BEIJING — China's lottery sales came in at 36.04 billion yuan (about $5.52 billion) in November, down 4.6 percent from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) showed.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets dropped 10.1 percent year-on-year to about 15.02 billion yuan in November, while sports lottery sales fell 0.2 percent to about 21.03 billion yuan, the MOF said.

In the first 11 months, lottery sales amounted to 297.4 billion yuan, down 22 percent year-on-year.

Under China's lottery management rules, money from ticket sales is used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects, and prize winnings.