State lotteries under inspection on fears of funds misuse

The National Audit Office launched a surprise audit of state lottery funds yesterday, South China Morning Post reported, citing the state newspaper Economic Information Daily. The audit comes amid fears that cash may have been misused, and encompasses 18 provinces, though it wasn’t announced which provinces will be included. Sales of lottery tickets generated more than RMB312 billion in the first 10 months of 2014, an increase of 24% compared with the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance. An investigation last year in Shandong province found that RMB61 million of funds had been misused to pay salaries and allowances to staff and former employees.