China’s lottery sales rebounded in October but fresh declines await as the government’s ban on instant gratification takes effect.

Figures released Monday by China’s Ministry of Finance show October’s lottery sales totaled RMB30.7b (US$4.8b), an 11.5% rise over the same month last year but nearly RMB5b below September 2020’s total.

Decent growth in the sports lottery segment (RMB18.4b, +24%) helped offset a 3.2% fall in October’s welfare lottery sales (RMB12.3b). For the year-to-date, total sales are down 23.9% to RMB261.4b, with broad declines in both welfare (-26.7%) and sports (-21.5%) products.

October will likely represent the last month of positive annual growth for a while, given the government’s order to conduct an “orderly delisting” of ‘high-frequency’ (sports) and ‘quick-opening’ (welfare) lottery products.