CRI听力:Websites Halt Sales of Lottery Tickets

A number of major lottery websites across China have suspended their lottery ticket services since the weekend.

This, after the central authorities issued an order demanding all provincial and municipal governments investigate online sales ahead of March 1st and submit their findings.

Caipiao.taobao.com, a platform developed by Alibaba to sell tickets for China's welfare lottery and its sports equivalent, had to suspend sales on Saturday.

The website says the decision has been made in accordance with requirements from the China Welfare Lottery Management Center and its Sports Lottery counterpart.

Xie Min is with Alibaba's ticket-selling website.

"Standard lottery sales centers are still allowed to sell tickets on our platform. But the website itself is no longer selling lottery tickets. Individual businesses are also no longer allowed to sell lottery tickets on our website. We made the decision after receiving a notice from the authorities."

Regulations connected to online lottery management state that websites have to have ministerial approval before they can sell lottery tickets.

However, the authorities have found that many lottery websites have been operating in cooperation with provincial or municipal lottery management centers without getting the proper approvals.
Regulators contend this has led to "competitive chaos."

Tang Xiaoping is with the Chinese lottery management center.

"Some held back lottery sales revenues and sales data, leading to the loss of lottery funds. It's harmful to the overall lottery market. Some have been found sell lottery tickets to minors, which is also a violation."

Buying lottery tickets online has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Last year, lottery tickets worth more than 80 billion yuan were bought online.

But, despite the convenience, this has also led to a growing number of complaints, including delays in ticket orders and people not receiving their prizes, creating frustration among those who use the services.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.