Lottery ticket sales in China during the month of February amounted to almost nothing and March figures aren’t looking much better. The COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown in the country kept the population far away from happy vices like the lottery and it’s unclear when ticket sales might reach pre-COVID levels, if they ever do.
The COVID-19 suspension of lottery ticket sales, which began in late January, in China could not have come at a worse time since sales were already suspended for the Chinese Lunar New Year. That’s a two-week holiday that was followed by a shutdown of every day life that’s only slowly revving back up.
Sales figures released by the Chinese Ministry of Finance paint a devastating picture of the shutdown’s impact on lottery sales. For the month of February, sales amounted to approximately 1 million Yuan ($141,000 USD). Since sales were banned, it’s unclear how the Ministry arrived at that number. By way of contrast, February 2019 sales were more 2.8 billion Yuan ($395,000 million USD).
China’s complete shutdown lasted 49 days, though lottery ticket sales have not resumed in every part of the country, including the country’s capitol of Beijing. Apparently officials fear that resuming sales in Beijing could increase crowds in a manner they don’t yet think safe. The Beijing prohibition seems odd, given the fact that lottery ticket sales resumed in Hubei Province on April 8. Hubei’s capitol is Wuhan, where the deadly virus first emerged.
It’s no clear when full lottery ticket sales will resume in China but until they do, officials are cautioning locals to avoid illegal black market lottery games under threat of severe penalties.