Category: Arkansas Lottery

November Report: Lottery Gives Less Than 18 Cents on the Dollar to Scholarships

According to a report published last week, the Arkansas Lottery budgeted less than eighteen cents of every dollar it made for scholarships in November.

The Arkansas Lottery grossed over $37 million in November, but paid less than $6.6 million in scholarships. That’s about 17.7% of the Lottery’s gross revenue.

Unfortunately this is not a new story. Month after month, year after year we have seen the Arkansas Lottery budget pathetic amounts of money for scholarships.

Below is a breakdown of the numbers so far for Fiscal Year 2017, which began last summer.

Month	Gross Lottery Revenue	Paid to Scholarships	% Gross Revenue
July	$38,237,293.92	$8,714,386.39	22.8%
August	35,091,022.09	5,498,714.86	15.7%
September	33,113,391.64	5,773,076.42	17.4%
October	34,061,993.14	5,165,040.54	15.2%
November	37,042,079.72	6,570,979.51	17.7%
Total	$177,545,780.51	$31,722,197.72	17.9%

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October Second-Lowest Month for Lottery Scholarships This Year

According a report released by the Arkansas Lottery yesterday, October was the lowest month for lottery scholarship funding since February, even though the Arkansas Lottery made more money in October than it did in September.

The Arkansas Lottery took in more than $34 million in October, but paid out less than $5.2 million in scholarships. That’s the Lottery’s lowest scholarship allocation since February of this year.

For perspective, the Arkansas Lottery managed to pay nearly $5.8 million in scholarships in September, despite taking in $33.1 million. In other words, in September the Arkansas Lottery made less money, but paid out more in scholarships than it did in October.

So what is going on at the Arkansas Lottery? It’s hard to say, but one point we continue to come back to over and over again is the Lottery’s apparent inability to prioritize scholarship funding over its vendor contracts, marketing, salaries, and other expenses. Scholarships simply seem to be the last line-item in the Arkansas “Scholarship” Lottery’s budget.

You can read the October report here. Below is a breakdown of lottery ticket sales and scholarship funds this year:

Month	Gross Lottery Revenue	Paid to Scholarships	% Gross Revenue
January	$58,746,249.00	$13,831,359.75	23.5%
February	40,790,144.05	4,474,356.06	11.0%
March	40,579,421.05	5,758,892.84	14.2%
April	37,516,802.47	7,392,837.00	19.7%
May	38,485,146.05	6,606,164.94	17.2%
June	34,983,951.24	11,249,220.37	32.2%
July	38,237,293.92	8,714,386.39	22.8%
August	35,091,022.09	5,498,714.86	15.7%
September	33,113,391.64	5,773,076.42	17.4%
October	34,061,993.14	5,165,040.54	15.2%
Total	$391,605,414.65	$69,299,008.63	17.7%

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Arkansas Lottery Gave Less Than 18% to Scholarships in 8 of Last 12 Months

Last week the Arkansas Lottery published its financial report for the month of September.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in $33.1 million in September–more than $1 million per day–but paid less than $5.8 million to scholarships.

In other words, less than 17.5 cents of every dollar the Lottery made last month actually went to scholarships.

Here’s a breakdown of the Arkansas Lottery’s revenue and scholarship funds for Fiscal Year 2017, which began last July:

Month	Gross Lottery Revenue	Paid to Scholarships	% Gross Revenue
July	38,237,293.92	8,714,386.39	22.8%
August	35,091,022.09	5,498,714.86	15.7%
September	33,113,391.64	5,773,076.42	17.4%
Total	$106,441,707.65	$19,986,177.67	18.8%

At this rate, the Arkansas Lottery is on track to pay about $80 – $85 million in college scholarships in Fiscal Year 2017.

Here’s something very telling about the Arkansas Lottery, however: In 8 of the past 12 months the Arkansas Lottery budgeted less than 18% of its revenue for college scholarships.

To put those numbers into perspective, the average state lottery budgets about 30% of its revenue for its intended purpose; Louisiana gives 35% of its gross lottery revenue to education.

The fact that the Arkansas Lottery continues to budget such a small percentage of its gross revenue for scholarships speaks volumes about the Lottery’s priorities.

Here’s a breakdown of gross revenue and scholarship funds during the past 12 months at the Arkansas Lottery:

Month	Gross Lottery Revenue	Paid to Scholarships	% Gross Revenue
October, 2015	35,261,533.80	6,020,642.32	17.1%
November	32,226,599.28	5,725,139.09	17.8%
December	38,670,746.09	6,425,754.66	16.6%
January, 2016	58,746,249.00	13,831,359.75	23.5%
February	40,790,144.05	4,474,356.06	11.0%
March	40,579,421.05	5,758,892.84	14.2%
April	37,516,802.47	7,392,837.00	19.7%
May	38,485,146.05	6,606,164.94	17.2%
June	34,983,951.24	11,249,220.37	32.2%
July	38,237,293.92	8,714,386.39	22.8%
August	35,091,022.09	5,498,714.86	15.7%
September	33,113,391.64	5,773,076.42	17.4%
Total	$463,702,300.68	$87,470,544.70	18.9%

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