Despite an official ban on gambling in the mainland, China will launch an Olympic-themed lottery with prizes of up to RMB5m, Reuters reports. Though gambling was banned in 1949, and is only permitted in Macau, while betting on horse racing is also permitted in Hong Kong, state-run sports lotteries have become popular on the mainland since the 1980s.
Now, a new Olympic lottery will feature five gaming options, covering
all 28 sports in the Beijing Olympics, with tickets priced from
RMB-3-10. One game, set to be offered to consumers from late April to 7
August, one day before the opening ceremony, will take bets on how many
gold, silver and bronze medals China will win at certain disciplines.
In January, China approved the recommencement of horse racing in the
city of Wuhan, and may re-introduce legalised gambling at these race meetings next year.
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