Apart from watching games and drinking beer with friends at midnight, Shen Yiren, a 27-year-old salesman in Shenzhen, found another way to participate in the soccer carnival: buying sports lottery tickets.

He just spent about 3,000 yuan ($480) on the final game between Germany and Argentina through his mobile lottery app as he was boarding the flight to Beijing.

"I didn't expect such convenience in 2010 when I had to pay dollars to buy lottery tickets through Paypal," Shen said. "Now I only need to click a few buttons."