BEIJING — China's lottery sales reached 30.72 billion yuan (about $4.67 billion) in October, up 11.5 percent from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets dropped 3.2 percent year-on-year to 12.28 billion yuan in October, while sports lottery sales gained 24 percent to 18.44 billion yuan.

From January to October, lottery sales amounted to 261.4 billion yuan, down 23.9 percent year-on-year.

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