Across Asia, lottery games are big business, and many players believe that luck and karma can be enhanced by playing. This belief, coupled with the massive size of some countries in the region, means that there are plenty of excellent asian lottery games to choose from.

The Chinese New Year is a celebration of good fortune and this year is no different. The festive season is marked by the gifting of red envelopes that typically contain cash or “lucky money,” and lotteries take advantage of the occasion to promote their products. This year, the China Welfare Lottery (CWL) is promoting three artistic Rooster scratch tickets at a variety of price points.

CWL, which operates public welfare lotteries in all provinces, is one of the nation’s biggest gaming companies. Its sales in June were up 384.3% on the previous month and it is expected to surpass the 2014 record of 9.62 billion yuan in annual sales.

Its popularity is partly due to a belief in fate and karma, as well as the desire to win a substantial amount of money. The proceeds from the games benefit a wide range of social welfare causes, and the government publishes an annual list of recipients, including public sports facilities and programmes for elderly and poor people.

Lottery sales have also risen in the face of mounting economic worries. In June, the unemployment rate for job seekers aged 16 to 24 rose to a 10-year high of 21.3%, and some social media commentators have linked it to the sharp rise in ticket sales.