He became 5 million yuan (US$604,000) richer in a matter of minutes when he scooped the fifth such prize in the China Computer Welfare Lottery this year.

"I saved money so that I could buy lottery tickets sometimes, and hoped that one day I would hit the jackpot. My dream has finally come true," said Zhang.

Twice a week in today's China, five ordinary people like Zhang become rich overnight via the China Computer Welfare Lottery or China Computer Sports Lottery.

China launched its first lottery in June 1987, and total sales of the welfare and sports lotteries over the past 15 years have amounted to 95 billion yuan (US$11.48 billion). The China Lottery Network, which runs the country's largest website devoted to lottery advice, is full of stories of overnight wealth.

Official statistics show that the China Computer Sports Lottery has given out prizes totalling 817 million yuan (US$98.7 million) ever since 1987. The top prize of 5 million yuan (US$604,000) has been awarded to 354 people.

More than 1,000 people have became yuan millionaires through the China Computer Welfare Lottery.

The Tibet Fengcai lottery last year debuted in Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. This meant that 95 per cent of the Chinese mainland's counties and cities had welfare or sports lotteries.

An official report indicated that over 60 per cent of residents in major cities - including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan - have purchased lottery tickets.

With the upsurge in ticket sales, the frequency of the lotteries has changed from once to twice a week, while the lure of easy riches has spurred on more people to play.

In China, where other forms of gambling are forbidden, the lotteries are a major source of fund-raising for the country's social welfare programmes.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has raised more than 12 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) in lottery funding, while the State Sport General Administration has raised more than 4 billion yuan (US$483 million).

World Lottery Association statistics show that more than 150 countries have lotteries and the lottery industry has been growing at 18 per cent each year, becoming the sixth-largest industry in the world.

The amount of lottery tickets issued in China ranked 12th internationally. However, due to the huge population, spending per capita was only 6 yuan (72 US cents), making it only 97th in the world.

Only 10 per cent of Chinese people have bought a lottery ticket, compared with 85 per cent in the United States, 64 per cent in France and 70 per cent in Japan. With economic and cultural development, lottery sales in China should reach 84.6 billion yuan (US$10.2 billion) in 10 years, experts predicted.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2002)