BEIJING — China's lottery sales came in at 29.1 billion yuan (about $4.56 billion) in April, data from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) shows.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets totaled 11.16 billion yuan in April, while sports lottery sales came in at 17.94 billion yuan, according to the MOF.

In the first four months, lottery sales amounted to 113.63 billion yuan, involving 45.16 billion yuan of welfare lottery sales and 68.47 billion yuan of sports lottery sales.

In April, sales in the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu and Henan were relatively high, MOF data also shows.

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