There have been 1 million lottery fans in Qingdao to date. Qingdao Lottery Association was established on July 8.

　　After the founding of the Lottery Association, the organization will invite some experts and experienced lottery fans to hold academic seminars and lectures on lo ttery in order to provide the lottery fans with updated information and knowledge, and to regularize the development of the lottery market. The city has launched the welfare lottery for 16 years with a total income of 2 billion RMB, among which nearly 0,7 billion has been used as the public welfare fund. The lottery income has also added over 80 million Yuan to the local tax income. The lottery fund has assisted over 1,100 public profit projects, including rest homes, orphanages, healing centers for the handicapped, community service centers, and provided over 2,500 job vacancies for the laid off workers. (top86)