Sports lottery operator 500.com reports third straight quarter of nil revenue

Online sports lottery operator 500.com turned in its third consecutive quarter of nonexistent revenue following China’s industry-wide suspension of online lottery sales.

On Wednesday, the Shenzhen-based 500.com reported net revenue of RMB 700k ($100k) in Q4 2015, down from RMB 146m in the same quarter the previous year. The company reported a net loss of RMB 109.7m (US $16.9m) for the quarter, compared to a net profit of RMB 14.5m in Q4 2014.

For the year as a whole, 500.com’s revenue was down nearly 84% to RMB 99.6m, while the company recorded a net loss of RMB 324m compared to a RMB 157m profit in 2014.

This marks three straight quarters that 500.com has reported nil revenue, a downturn brought about by the “temporary” suspension of online lottery sales imposed by Beijing authorities last March. The authorities were prompted to act after an audit uncovered widespread fraud among unauthorized online lottery agents.