China’s lottery sales rebounded in April despite the ongoing suspension of online sales.

China’s Ministry of Finance reported total lottery sales of RMB 32.6b (US $5.25b) in April, up 3.4% over the same month last year. Welfare lottery sales were up 2.2% to RMB 18.1b while sports lottery sales gained 5% to RMB 14.5b. For the year to date, total sales have improved 14.2% to RMB 127.4b.

Lottery sales had fallen 6.3% in March, the first month following China’s decision to suspend online sales pending an audit of provincial lottery administration centers. Only two operators had been formally approved to operate online as part of a pilot program but China accused some online operators of launching without their authority and not reporting their total sales figures.

Shenzhen-based, Nasdaq-listed 500.com was one of those operators approved for the pilot program, and the online suspension has hit their business hard. Despite this setback, 500.com announced on Tuesday that Tsinghua Unigroup International Co., Ltd. has taken a 15.2% stake in the company. The stake was acquired via the issuance of new shares for a total consideration of $123.8m.