Welfare Lottery

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Chinese lottery winner hits record jackpot

Wed Nov 28, 2007 6:14am GMT

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese person from a dirt-poor province has won the country's largest ever individual lottery prize -- $14 million (6.8 million pounds), a newspaper said on Wednesday.

The unidentified buyer from the north-western province of Gansu bought 20 identical "Double Colour Ball" tickets issued by the China Welfare Lottery at a cost of 40 yuan (2.60 pounds) on Tuesday, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

The buyer chose the same seven sets of two-digit numbers on each, reaping a total of 102.7 million yuan (6.8 million pounds), the newspaper said.

The puritanical Communist Party abolished lotteries in China after taking power in 1949, denouncing it as an evil of decadent capitalists. But the country launched state-run lotteries in 1987 as market-oriented reforms loosened the hold on society.

Lottery-related crimes have been on the rise and underground lottery schemes have become rampant across the country in recent years, bankrupting many families.

The Welfare Lottery Centre in arid Gansu, where farmers make an average of just over 2,000 yuan a year, was quick to head off a possible lottery-buying stampede the huge prize might trigger.

"The centre's officials were glad to hear of such surprising news, but they would also like to remind lottery-ticket buyers that it is a recreation the state offers the people," said a statement on the lottery's official Web site (www.zhcw.com).

"They hope everybody can take part in the game with a recreational, relaxed and normal attitude and buy rationally, taking into account their own financial means."

(Reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Student wins lottery, leaves school

Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:15am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - A college student withdrew from school after winning the 5 million yuan ($683,000) jackpot in a lottery in China' eastern city of Nanjing, local media reported on Thursday.

The second-year student at the Jiangsu Maritime Institute, identified by the nickname Yong to protect his identity, was the sole first-prize winner in the "Double Colour Ball" issued by the China Welfare Lottery on Tuesday, the Beijing News said.

"After winning the lottery, Yong told his roommates that he would share 2,000 yuan with each of them," it added.

Yong informed school authorities of his winnings, and had returned home.

"We are not sure if he will return to school, but we hope he will eventually finish his education," the paper quoted Yong's teacher as saying.

The Communist Party abolished lotteries in China after taking power in 1949, denouncing them as a practice of decadent capitalists. But the country launched state-run lotteries in 1987 amid market-oriented reforms.

Lotteries have become increasingly popular both among the poor and the newly rich in China, where many forms of gambling are banned. Per capita income in China's urban areas is roughly $1,900 a year and about $600 a year in rural areas.

Lottery-related crimes have been on the rise as well, and underground lottery schemes have become rampant across the country in recent years, bankrupting many families.

Last month, China set up its first help centre for lottery addicts, offering counseling and legal assistance.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Ken Wills and Sanjeev Miglani)