Lottery Gave 16 Cents on the Dollar to Scholarships in February
This afternoon the Arkansas Lottery posted its financial report for the month of February.
According to the report, the Arkansas Lottery grossed nearly $41.2 million, but gave less than $6.7 million to scholarships–about 16 cents of every dollar it made.
A new bill filed last week by Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) would require the Lottery to set aside at least 25% of its gross revenue for scholarships; under that bill, the Arkansas Lottery would have given nearly $10.3 million to scholarships in February.
Unfortunately, the Arkansas Lottery continues to budget a paltry amount of money for scholarships each month. Below is a breakdown of the numbers for Fiscal Year 2017.
| 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% |
| December | 35,352,159.35 | 4,596,532.22 | 13.0% |
| January, 2017 | 37,062,291.39 | 7,947,546.21 | 21.4% |
| February | 41,176,854.60 | 6,698,099.62 | 16.3% |
| Total | $291,137,085.85 | $50,964,375.77 | 17.5% |