Rumor: Chinese Online Lottery Sales to Restart, Government to Release New Rules
CN Stock, 4/02/15
After a thorough inspection of online lottery sales, China's lottery websites have recently begun preparations to restart sales. It is expected that the government will announce new rules regulating online lottery ticket sales either through the issuance of internet lottery sales licenses or the launch of an all-new national lottery sales system.
In February, China's Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and General Administration of Sport (GASC) jointly issued an announcement concerning the unauthorized use of the internet to sell lottery tickets, and the GASC published opinions on how to effectively implement an audit on lottery funds. Shortly afterwards, several online lottery platforms posted notices announcing a temporary cessation of sales. The stock price of online lottery sales site operator 500.com (NYSE: WBAI) plummeted, and the industry has since been eagerly awaiting a new round of rule adjustments.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "500.com Announces Suspension of Sales by Certain Provincial Sports Lottery Centers," MD 2/25/15 and "Taobao Suspends Lottery Sales Service," MD 2/28/15 issue.
Keywords: Internet online lottery Ministry of Finance Ministry of Civil Affairs WBAI 500.com GASC regulation
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