BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's government-run welfare lottery has raised a total of 164.5 billion yuan (24.8 billion U.S. dollars) for public welfare funds over the last 23 years, the Welfare Lottery Distribution and Management Center (WLDMC) announced Monday.

Total sales of welfare lottery tickets had amounted to 500 billion yuan (75.2 billion U.S. dollars) since the lottery started operation in 1987, said a statement issued by the WLDMC.

Half of the funds were allocated to social welfare projects organized by local governments, and the rest to public welfare funds or projects administered by central authorities, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), said the statement.

The civil affair authorities for the past 23 years had supported more than 200,000 projects for the public good, the statement said.

The projects included social welfare institutions, child welfare associations, homes for the aged in villages and towns, and community service centers.

The WLDMC is administered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which was authorized by the State Council to raise welfare funds through lottery sales in 1987.