Throughout Asia there is a widespread belief – consciously or not – in the law of karma, which can be generally summarised as the principle that positive thoughts, words and deeds bring about good experiences, while negative ones do the opposite. Many Asians therefore play lottery games in the hope of giving their positive karma a chance to manifest in the form of financial windfalls.

At a recent housewarming party, Zheng Jiaying expected her colleagues to give her flowers or perfume or perhaps a red envelope stuffed with cash. But what she received was more unorthodox: a pile of lottery scratch cards.

Lottery tickets are increasingly attracting young people in China as a cheap thrill and a get-rich-quick solution amid a tough economy, reports the South China Morning Post. But some economists fear the trend could fuel a rise in social inequality. The state allocates a third of its ticket revenues to favoured causes, including public sports facilities and programmes for the elderly and poor, while players are required to hand over a fifth in taxes.

Last week, a man identified only as Mr Li won a staggering 219 million yuan (about $29.9 million) jackpot from lottery tickets in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He kept the news from his wife and child, saying he feared knowledge of the win would make them lazy. Mr Li wore a bright yellow costume of the lottery mascot Fudou when he went to collect his check at the lottery office in Nanning, the capital of the southern region, on October 24, according to local media reports.