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Jackpot!

By Li Weitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-28 15:04

The debate

Debate over lotteries still persisted. To overcome the resistance, Tang Minze, chief of Hebei Welfare Lottery Center, came up with a slogan to advertise ticket sales, but it was opposed by many.

"Sincere wishes to win the top awards," it read. Some thought it could be misleading as it encouraged people to participate in lotteries to win instead of contributing to society, Tang recalls in an interview with People's Pictorial. At that time, making contributions to society was equated with selfless service.

The debate was so intense that the ad line had to be cleared by the central government. Once the go-ahead came through, 3,500 posters publicizing the lottery blanketed Shijiazhuang.

On July 27, 1987, lottery sales started and vice-mayor Sun Yongsheng, who was among a number of government officials to campaign for the lottery, bought the country's first 10 lottery tickets from Tang.

Unlike elsewhere in the world, in China lottery was linked to a patriotic spirit and the event was hyped as a charity fundraiser rather than a chance to get rich quick.

Sales pushed by patriotism weren't brisk. On the first day 58 counters in Shijiazhuang sold tickets worth only 1,246 yuan and most were bought by government officials although the local authorities planned to issue a total of 80 million tickets.

Wen Guobin, a peasant in Shijiazhuang, got 2,000 yuan, the first top award in China's first lottery. The win enabled Wen to have a decent wedding. He bought four tickets and the lucky number was 046806, according to Hebei Youth Daily.

Sales boom

The Shijiazhuang lottery was followed by sales in nine other provinces and cities. In 1987, the total sales in the country reached only 17.4 million yuan.

Lottery organizers started adopting "innovative" approaches to boost sales. And increasingly it looked more like a lucky draw than an exercise in patriotism.

A typical scene used to be a truck packed with motorcycles, color TV sets, washing machines and even shampoo in a city square or a bazaar in the countryside. Typically there would be singing and dancing shows before the results of the lucky draws were announced. The winners would then step up to claim their prizes, encouraging others to buy more.

In 1988, the State Council approved a lottery designed to raise funds for the 11th Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990. That marked a departure from the Cabinet's initial intention that all proceeds would be used for social welfare. But since then, lotteries in numerous forms have been approved to finance sports events in the country.

In 1989, lottery sales in China hit 380 million yuan and have skyrocketed since as lotteries began to lose the sense of guilt associated with them and the government became increasingly aggressive in pushing sales.

Prizes were gradually replaced by cash awards and public lucky draws were replaced by computerized lotteries. From 1985 to 1999, China sold lotteries worth more than 50 billion yuan.

Gaming rules

A lottery craze swept the country. On January 9, 1999, when a new lottery was issued in Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang province, sales hit 120 million yuan in a single day.

In October 2001, a football lottery, targeting the World Cup, was launched across the country, with the top prize reaching 5 million yuan. By the end of that year, in Guangdong province alone, the lottery produced 31 millionaires.

Despite booming sales, China's lottery market has lacked regulatoins. The government has relied solely on temporary administrative tools, which critics say has resulted in frauds and malpractices. Lotteries organized by unauthorized organizations have been rampant as well.

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