BEIJING - Lottery sales in China rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in January to 16.45 billion yuan ($2.61 billion), the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

The ministry said in a statement posted on its website that of the total, welfare lottery ticket sales reached 9.89 billion yuan, up 6.1 percent year-on-year, while sales of sports lottery tickets declined 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 6.57 billion yuan.

The statement also said that 17 provincial-level regions saw lottery sales rise in January from a year earlier, with Jiangsu Province posting the largest increase of 290 million yuan.

The money raised through lotteries is divided into the jackpot, lottery management fees and lottery public funds, in accordance with regulations.