BEIJING, Jan. 31 -- China's lottery sales rose 13.8 percent year on year to total 424.65 billion yuan (62.82 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Tuesday.

Sales of lottery tickets to support the country's welfare system climbed 4.1 percent year on year to 148.13 billion yuan, while lottery tickets sold to support the sports industry surged 19.7 percent to 276.52 billion yuan.

In December alone, lottery sales rose 91.7 percent to hit 61.85 billion yuan. Of the total, sales of welfare lottery tickets dropped 16.9 percent to total 11.83 billion yuan, while sales of sports lottery tickets soared 177.5 percent to hit 50.02 billion yuan, mainly due to the FIFA World Cup.

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