According to a new report, revenue from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery fell $19.7 million to $321 million in the first eight months of fiscal 2020, which began last July, compared to the same period in fiscal 2019. As a result, the amount raised for college scholarships declined by about $8.7 million to $50.1 million, compared to the same period last year.
The report, presented to Governor Asa Hutchinson and the legislative council’s lottery oversight subcommittee, also showed total revenue in February fell by $400,000 to $40.6 million, compared with the same month a year ago. The amount raised for college scholarships decreased by more than $900,000 to $7.2 million compared to last year. In fiscal 2019, the lottery posted record revenue of $516.2 million and also set a record, $98.4 million, for the amount raised for college scholarships.
In the first eight months of fiscal 2020, draw-game revenue fell by $22.9 million to $51.7 million but scratch-off ticket revenue rose by $3.2 million to $268.7 million, compared to the same period in fiscal 2019.
Lottery Director Bishop Woosley said, “The $22 million deficit is solely related to the sales difference between October 2018 versus October 2019. In October 2018 we had a $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot and a $750 million Powerball jackpot. Sales from those games during that month account for the $20 million difference in the two years.”
The lottery started selling tickets on September 28, 2009. Proceeds have helped finance Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships for more than 30,000 students in each of the past nine fiscal years.
For fiscal 2020, Woosley projected total revenue of $497 million, with net proceeds at $89.3 million. He noted, “We are down in revenue by almost $2.8 million versus the budget. We are up $4.7 million in instant tickets versus the budget and down $7.6 million in draw games versus the budget. Thus far, we are down $1.5 million versus our net proceeds budget for the year.”
Woosley added, “Hopefully, our instant ticket success will continue, and the draw games will catch fire and we will have at least one jackpot run to end the year which will help us get back to even or better.”
At the end of the fiscal year, the lottery’s unclaimed prize reserve balance, minus $1 million, will be transferred to college scholarships. As of February 29, that balance totaled $7.2 million.
Woosley also noted, “The casinos and Mississippi lottery have impacted us to some extent, though it is unclear how much given that our draw-game sales have been so poor this year due to lower jackpots.” He was referring to new racinos in Hot Springs and West Memphis and the upcoming Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, plus sports betting at each casino site. Also the new Mississippi lottery now sells Powerball and Mega Millions tickets.
Woosley also announced all during March–Problem Gambling Awareness Month–the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery will address gambling addiction at numerous levels. “From the game design all the way down to the actual areas where we sell, we try and be as responsible as we can and not create an environment where someone is expecting they’re going to get rich from playing the lottery or that they’re going to be able to pay off debts or things of that nature,” he said.
The state lottery received the Responsible Gambling Certification from the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries and the National Council on Problem Gambling last summer. “We got the certification to do what we can because we want to do our part in making sure that people have the help they need, and our retailers and our people within the lottery have the help they need to make sure we’re not exacerbating problem gambling or doing things that may encourage someone to play more than they need to,” Woosley said. He noted the certification is a self-policing program, reviewed on a yearly basis.
