Ningxia's welfare lottery sales grew 42 percent in the first quarter to 169.43 million yuan ($ 25.9 million), up more than 50 million yuan ($7.6 million) from the previous year.

From that total, approximately 51 million yuan ($7.8 million) went into the province's welfare fund, according to Ningxia Welfare Lottery Issuing Center. The region has become one of the top 10 provinces in China for welfare lottery sales growth in the first quarter.