Lottery Commission Lowers Budget for 2015

Arkansas Lottery

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, on Wednesday the Arkansas Lottery Commission lowered its budget for the next year, cutting scholarship funding by $3 million to a total $78.2 million. This is $3.3 million less than the Arkansas Lottery paid in scholarships this past year.

We have written before how the Arkansas Lottery Commission has struggled to live up to its promises. Scholarship funding has never reached the levels promised in 2008; the Arkansas Lottery Commission has cut scholarship funds time and time again, but has somehow managed to afford new employees, raises, and bonuses; and lottery officials, in the past, have openly defied members of the Arkansas Legislature.

We’ve been saying it for nearly five years, but the problem down at the Arkansas Lottery Commission is not a revenue problem or a budget problem; it’s a priorities problem. Scholarships are the last bill the Lottery pays and the first thing they cut if ticket sales drop. This latest budget cut is simply another verse in that same old song.

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A Few Fast Facts on the Arkansas Lottery

Arkansas Lottery

American_CashThe Arkansas Lottery just wrapped up Fiscal Year 2014. Year-end reports were posted on the agency’s website, recently. To summarize, here are a few fast facts on the Arkansas Lottery:

  • The Arkansas Lottery took in roughly $411 million in revenue from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014.
  • Approximately 19.8% of lottery revenue went for scholarships (yes, that’s still one of the lowest percentages in the nation).
  • During the month of June, the Arkansas Lottery sold approximately $30.5 million worth of tickets.
  • During the month of June, roughly 82% of lottery ticket revenue came from scratch-off tickets; about 6.5% came from Powerball; the rest came from other games.
  • The Arkansas Lottery spent roughly $81.5 million on college scholarships this year; this is $8.4 million less than last year and $16 million less than the year before.
  • Overall, lottery revenue for the year was roughly $49 million less than budgeted.
  • Scholarship funding came out $8.1 million less than budgeted.

There is a silver lining in all these facts and figures: The fact that lottery revenue continues to decline means Arkansans are losing fewer and fewer of their hard-earned dollars playing the lottery.

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Lottery Leaders Get 2% Bonus as Scholarships Decline

Arkansas Lottery

Over the holiday weekend, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the Arkansas Lottery Commission awarded the lottery director a 2% bonus ($2,832) in spite of declining revenue and lagging scholarship projections. Altogether, the Arkansas Lottery Commission distributed thousands of dollars in bonuses to various lottery employees.

There is a lot that could be said about this. Why is the Lottery Commission distributing “merit” bonuses at a time when the Lottery is failing to live up to its own budget projections?

Why was the Lottery able to find thousands of dollars for bonuses but not for scholarships? What, exactly, are the Arkansas Lottery’s priorities?

In light of this and other recent actions on the part of the Arkansas Lottery, it’s no wonder many are beginning to say it’s time for tighter oversight and accountability at the Arkansas Lottery Commission.

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