China has published a draft management regulation on lotteries and is
asking for the public's opinions.
If officially issued, it would be the country's first national management
regulation on lotteries since the country gave the green light to its lottery
industry in 1987.
The solicitation of public opinion will last through March 28, and the
regulation will be issued later this year. There is no fixed date so far.
"The regulation will enhance supervision of the fast-growing lottery industry
and stamp out fraud, which has been on the rise since the country launched its
first lottery two decades ago," said a report on the Legislative Affairs Office
of the State Council website.
Currently, China has a provisional regulation on the management of lottery
distribution and sales. It was issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2002.
According to the proposed draft, carried by the website, no individual,
organization or government department could sell lotteries without permission
from the State Council. The China Welfare Lottery Administrative Center and the
sports lottery administrative center of the China General Administration of
Sport, both state-run, are the only two legitimate lottery outlets.
Public hearings will be held along with expert consultation before new
lotteries are set up.
The draft requires lottery vendors to keep the identity of lottery winners
confidential. It also demands transparency of money taken in and how it is spent
on a regular basis.
Lottery funds should cover lottery prizes and management funding for lottery
sellers. The rest, should be spent on the improvement of public welfare,
according to the draft, quoting that a percentage of the revenue would be
decided by State Council financial departments.
Individuals or government departments violating the regulation by selling
lotteries unauthorized by the State Council would be fined and face criminal
charges. Their illegal gains would be confiscated, it said.
Lotteries have generated huge economic and social returns in China over the
past two decades. The country had issued 363 billion yuan (US$49 billion) of
lottery tickets through 2006. More than a third of the proceeds were spent on
public welfare, such as the development of public sports facilities, education
and health care for the handicapped.