China's instant lottery market surges on back of scratchcards

China's instant lottery market is undergoing a seismic shift, fueled by the explosive rise of scratch-off tickets, according to a lottery official.

Annual sales of guaguale, the dominant welfare lottery scratchcard brand, have surged from 14.6 billion yuan ($2.06 billion) to 61 billion yuan over the past five years — a 318 percent increase, with an average annual growth rate of 42.97 percent.

Chen Ziqing, a marketing official at the China Welfare Lottery distribution and administration center, told China Daily that this jump reflects a fundamental transformation in the lottery landscape.

The guaguale brand was strategically launched in 2005, building on the foundation of the center's first instant ticket introduced in Guangdong in 1988. The market expanded further in 2008 when the China Sports Lottery, the other State-authorized distributor, rolled out its competing product, dingguagua.

Chen noted that scratchcards' share of total welfare lottery sales has nearly tripled in five years, reaching 29.4 percent — close to the 30 percent share typical in mature international markets. He attributed the growth to several factors: filling a market void after other fast-draw games were phased out, expanding into shopping malls, transit hubs, and commercial complexes via self-service kiosks, and tapping into younger demographics.

Additionally, social media content featuring celebrities and influencers livestreaming themselves playing scratchcards has generated widespread publicity, boosting visibility and trendy appeal, Chen said, while acknowledging ongoing challenges such as cost control and market regulation.

China's lottery sector operates under a State-authorized duopoly consisting of the China Welfare Lottery, launched in 1987 to fund social welfare programs, and the China Sports Lottery, founded in 1994 to finance fitness initiatives and sports development. These are the country's only legal lottery operators, established to raise public funds for specific social causes.