China’s lottery sales fell in January, the eighth straight month of declining numbers.

According to the Ministry of Finance, total lottery sales fell 16.8% in January to RMB 32.6b (US $5b). Welfare lottery sales were down 7.9% to RMB 18.1b while sports lottery sales tumbled 25.7% to RMB 14.5b.

China’s slowdown has dragged down the performance of the entire Asia-Pacific lottery sector, according to the World Lottery Association (WLA). The WLA’s figures covering the first nine months of 2015 show the Asia-Pacific region contracting by 0.3%, while other geographic categories were all in positive territory over the same span, led by Latin America (+19.2%), North America (+7.6%), Africa (+3.6%) and Europe (+0.6%).

Some of China’s decline can be blamed on its slumping economy and poor comparisons with 2014’s figures, as the sports lottery benefited from excitement over the FIFA World Cup. But the decline also mirrors the Beijing-imposed March 1, 2015 suspension of online lottery sales following evidence of rampant corruption among unauthorized online lottery operators.