China lottery expands customer base
China lottery and its impressive 200 million players
Hard as it is to change a centuries long habit and prohibit a nation fascinated by gambling from placing wagers, the Communist Party came very close a few decades ago. Although many Chinese chose to break the law and expose themselves to criminal charges, their number was relatively low for a country with more than one billion inhabitants. When the Communist Party chose that two state-run lotteries should be allowed to operate on Chinese soil, people flocked and the number of players has risen ever since.
The profile of Chinese lottery players
All over the world people are drawn to lotteries by the idea of striking it rich and this explains why most of the players have a similar background. Low income, less educated people are more likely to buy tickets and to turn what should be nothing more than a hobby into an addiction. The Chinese media doesn’t report everything but it looks like out of the roughly 200 million players, 7 of them are problem gamblers.
On the other hand, China lottery stands out from the crowd due to the fact that the majority of players have a higher than average income and some education. They have either hit a ceiling in their professions and can’t progress in the same direction, or are no longer satisfied with the money they make. When winning the lottery appears to be the only way to get rich, it is clear that addiction and erratic gambling need to be factored in. The Chinese government is aware of this problem, but with the lottery generating a lot of money for the budget, they are reluctant to do anything concrete about it.
China lottery set to outshine the US market
Right now it is the United States who has the most lottery players and this is explained by the long tradition of running games here and by the huge prizes. Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries have made many millionaires over time and the price of tickets is affordable for pretty much every American. With China lottery introducing new games year after year and boosting the jackpots, it comes as no surprise that players react positively.
There are two distinct advantages that China lottery has over all its counterparts and these are the monopoly and access to a huge customer base. 200 million players are an impressive number, but there is plenty of room to grow and all the figures suggest that the upward trend will continue. The authorities are claiming that a part of the money generated from selling tickets is used for underfunded social projects, but transparency is a big issue in China. Many claim that corruption is preventing these funds from reaching their destination and some have even urged players to boycott the games.
Check out The Chinese lottery outlook as well.
