The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery posted a record $49.7 million for the month of July, an increase of $8.5 million over July 2019. The total exceeded the lottery’s projected budget by $14.2 million.
In a monthly report submitted to Governor Asa Hutchinson and the legislative Lottery Oversight Committee, Lottery Director Eric Hagler said July’s record revenue plus two large prizes including a $1 million Play It Again winner helped boost net proceeds.
Hagler, who started his new job August 6, said sales have surged since April due to Covid-19 closures and lower gas prices. He said the pandemic has had a mixed effect on the lottery industry as a whole, because of the various levels of restrictions implemented by each state.
The Arkansas lottery “continued to be available and was sold in essential businesses during the pandemic which has and continues to contribute to our strong sales,” Hagler said.
According to lottery figures, scratch-off ticket revenue in July increased by $8 million compared to $42.9 million in July 2019. Draw-game revenue rose by about $600,000 from one year ago to $6.8 million. Other revenue included fees of $46,015 paid by the lottery’s 1,959 retailers.
Hagler noted while draw-game revenue increased last month, “our national games have continued to lag in sales due to the lack of a large jackpot run. However, our Natural State Jackpot, Cash 3, Cash 4 and Fast Play have all seen a growth in sales, accounting for the overall increase in draw sales.”
Lottery revenue totaled a record $532 million in fiscal 2020, which ended June 30, beating the previous record of $516.2 million in fiscal 2019. The scholarship fund gained $89.4 million, the sixth-highest amount in the lottery’s history. The highest amount raised for college scholarships was $98.6 million in fiscal 2019.
At the end of July, the unclaimed prize reserve balance totaled $1.1 million after a gain of $138,541. The fund’s balance minus $1 million will be transferred to unclaimed prizes at the end of the fiscal year.
Hagler succeeded Bishop Woosley, who took over as lottery director in February 2012 and resigned effective August 3. Last month, Woosley attributed the drop in the college scholarship fund to the “terrible draw game sales we had,” noting sales for Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot games “were the worst we’ve ever seen.”
In May, considering projections for fiscal 2021, Woosley said, “There is a great deal of uncertainty in the lottery world and the world in general right now. Economic circumstances have been changing by the week or even by the day over the past month. It is almost impossible to project what changes there will be to the economy and consumer behavior at this point.”
He noted, “In addition, we were forced to change the multi-state games to account for the dramatic drop in sales. At this point, there is uncertainty how long those changes will remain in place. We created the budget using current trends in sales and did our best to provide a very conservative, yet realistic budget for next fiscal year. I would not be surprised if we fared better than what we have budgeted. The impact of the casinos was included, but the uncertainty and the economic conditions weighed the most in our process.”
