People buy lotteries at a sports lottery shop in Baoji city, Shaanxi province, on Nov 21.[Photo/CFP]

BEIJING - China's lottery sales rose 3.5 percent year on year to 194 billion yuan ($30 billion) in the first half of 2016, official data showed on Tuesday.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets dropped 0.5 percent to 102 billion yuan, while sports lottery sales increased 8.4 percent to 92 billion yuan, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The lottery sales in south China's Guangdong province in H1 climbed the most, up by 2.42 billion yuan, while Hubei, Henan and Yunnan also posted large increases, according to the statement.

Under lottery management rules, money from ticket sales must cover administrative fees and public welfare projects as well as the jackpot.