China’s approach to gambling and chance-based entertainment is often shaped by its strict legal system and cultural attitudes toward luck.
While casinos are off-limits almost everywhere in mainland China, small-scale lottery play, and its instant-win equivalent, scratchcards, thrives quietly across the country.
Today, these games represent one of the few officially sanctioned ways Chinese citizens can experience the thrill of risk and reward, while also contributing to state revenue and social welfare programs.
Legal Gambling in China
Gambling is largely prohibited under Chinese law. The mainland government bans most commercial betting, casino operations, and online gambling platforms.
The only legal exceptions are two state-run lotteries: the China Welfare Lottery (established in 1987) and the China Sports Lottery (introduced in 1994).
Both serve as fundraising mechanisms for public causes, channelling proceeds into areas such as healthcare, social programs, and sports development.
Scratchcards form a branch of these state lotteries. Known locally as “jika”, these instant games allow players to buy, scratch, and discover whether they have won on the spot, usually in convenience stores, post offices, or official lottery booths.
Despite their modest appearance, scratchcards have become a billion-yuan industry within China’s vast and carefully managed gambling landscape.
From Welfare Funding to Widespread Play
The early goal of the Welfare Lottery was straightforward: raise funds for vulnerable citizens.
For decades, it supported aged care, disability services, and disaster relief projects.
MECCA BINGO OFFER
Deposit & spend £5 on Bingo and get a £20 Bingo Bonus + £10 Mecca Club Voucher
However, scratchcards introduced a new dynamic to this system when they gained nationwide attention in the early 2000s.
Unlike numerical lottery draws, which require waiting for televised results, instant scratchcards deliver an immediate outcome, making them more accessible and appealing to everyday buyers.
For many, they provide a small burst of entertainment in daily life. For the government, they provide a predictable, continuous stream of non-tax revenue.
This mutually reinforcing model helped scratchcards spread rapidly across China’s cities and provinces.
By 2011, combined lottery and scratchcard sales had surpassed the equivalent of £20 billion, marking a 33% increase from the previous year.
In the years since, that growth has continued, though tempered by tighter regulations and a push for more transparent auditing.
The Scale of Modern Lottery Play
According to the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, national lottery sales reached 528 billion yuan (£57 billion) in 2023, marking a 36% rise year-on-year.
The Sports Lottery accounted for about 65% of these figures, with scratchcards representing a small yet stable share within the broader market.
China’s Welfare Lottery scratchcards remain especially popular during festivals and public holidays, when buying them is considered a fun and symbolic act of good fortune.
During the Lunar New Year season, sales traditionally soar, driven by the cultural association between luck, prosperity, and gift-giving.
Some buyers even include scratchcards as part of hóngbāo (red envelope) gifts, blending modern gaming with centuries-old tradition.
Marketing and the Message of “Doing Good”
State-run marketing plays a crucial role in shaping China’s scratchcard culture. Government-backed campaigns often frame lottery participation as a patriotic or charitable act.
Billboards and television spots highlight how lottery revenues fund hospitals, sports fields, and welfare programs.
The message is clear: buying a scratchcard means contributing to society while also taking a chance on personal luck.
However, the promotional tone has shifted slightly over the last decade. Newer campaigns place stronger emphasis on moderation and responsibility.
Slogans remind the public to “play rationally” and view tickets as a form of entertainment, not investment.
This follows official recognition that gambling-like behaviour, even in its legal forms, can lead to social issues if left unchecked.
The Shadow of Gambling Addiction
Although mainland China separates lotteries and scratchcards from illegal gambling, behavioural patterns tell a more complicated story.
Researchers at Beijing Normal University estimate that millions of citizens exhibit at least some problem gambling tendencies, often linked to lottery and scratchcard purchases.
The government has not released official figures on addiction rates, but academic surveys suggest the problem affects both urban and rural populations.
Part of this challenge comes from the deeply cultural belief in luck and fate.
In Confucian and Taoist traditions, success or wealth is sometimes viewed as a reflection of destiny.
Scratchcards, therefore, aren’t just games, they’re miniature negotiations with fortune. This mindset can drive repetitive purchasing even among low-income citizens pursuing modest winnings.
To manage these risks, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has launched awareness programs focusing on “rational participation.”
Provincial lottery centres also limit high-volume sales and encourage retailers to refuse excessive purchases by repeat customers.
Digital and Mobile Transformation
In the last five years, mobile payment platforms such as WeChat Pay and Alipay have become integral to daily life in China.
Though online gambling remains illegal, the government has experimented with controlled online lottery sales through official apps and websites.
For example, some provincial lotteries briefly offered digital scratchcard equivalents, allowing users to reveal results on-screen rather than on printed tickets.
However, after a 2015 suspension of online lottery services due to widespread fraud in unlicensed platforms, digital sales have been tightly restricted.
This has pushed scratchcard sales firmly back toward physical outlets. Even so, there are signs that the digital transition may return in supervised form, potentially through government-approved mobile portals that combine real-name verification, purchase limits, and instant result displays.
Scratchcards and Economic Resilience
From an economic standpoint, scratchcards represent a small but stable revenue source.
They provide the government with flexible income that supplements general taxation, particularly during economic slowdowns.
In 2023, the China Welfare Lottery contributed approximately 19 billion yuan (£2 billion) toward social projects across health care, education, and poverty relief.
Local governments also benefit through employment creation. Retail kiosks, lottery shops, and logistics networks rely on a workforce that supports ticket sales, distribution, and verification.
It’s estimated that more than 300,000 small businesses in China now hold lottery or scratchcard sales licenses, making the sector a quiet but steady job provider.
Public Perception and Future Direction
Social attitudes toward scratchcards remain mixed but largely positive. For many Chinese citizens, buying a scratchcard is a harmless way to engage with luck and contribute to community welfare.
Others perceive it as a low-level form of gambling that, while officially sanctioned, can distract from genuine productivity.
Experts suggest that the Chinese government will continue to walk a careful line. While lotteries remain permitted as social funding tools, officials have indicated no intention of expanding legal gambling beyond these systems.
Future emphasis will likely remain on transparency, technological oversight, and ensuring that gaming revenue aligns with welfare outcomes.
One emerging focus is green printing, as in the use of eco-friendly materials in scratchcard production.
Recent pilot projects show that biodegradable or recyclable ticket stock may become standard over the next decade as environmental policy expands into all industries, even leisure sectors like lotteries.
Controlled Luck in a Controlled Market
Scratchcards in China illustrate the country’s broader balancing act—permitting limited fun while maintaining social and moral control.
They satisfy curiosity, promise small bursts of luck, and create public good through redirected profit.
Yet they also expose the same human impulses that make gambling a global constant: hope, anticipation, and the dream of instant change.
As China’s digital economy grows, the government’s next challenge will be managing these games in ways that harness entertainment value without stoking dependence.
For now, the humble scratchcard remains both a state fundraiser and a cultural mirror – proof that even in one of the world’s most tightly regulated societies, the desire to take a chance endures.
