Lottery Scholarship Funding Dismal in December Despite Uptick in Revenue
According to a report released today by the Arkansas Lottery, December was the second-best month the Lottery has had so far this fiscal year at just over $44.7 million in revenue.
However, despite this uptick in revenue, December was the second-worst month when it came to scholarship funding.
The Arkansas Lottery set aside a little less $6.6 million for scholarships last month — about 14-15 cents out of every dollar it made. That’s worse than every other month this fiscal year, except October.
Since Fiscal Year 2018 began last July, the Arkansas Lottery has spent a paltry 17% of its total revenue on college scholarships. For perspective, the average state lottery spends 30%.
Last December the Arkansas Lottery issued a press release in which it said,
We are always looking to maximize the winning and the fun for our players — as well as the revenues for scholarships for our students here in the state.
If the Arkansas Lottery is really concerned about maximizing scholarship funding, then why doesn’t it give Arkansas’ students more than just 17 cents out of every dollar it makes?
Below is a breakdown of the Lottery’s revenue and scholarship funding so far this fiscal year.
| Month | Gross Lottery Revenue | Paid to Scholarships | % Gross Revenue |
| July | $36,885,396.81 | $6,661,762.99 | 18.1% |
| August | 49,320,459.23 | 8,912,741.54 | 18.1% |
| September | 36,405,731.14 | 6,755,333.93 | 18.6% |
| October | 39,802,740.53 | 5,667,305.74 | 14.2% |
| November | 36,186,107.78 | 6,691,228.00 | 18.5% |
| December | 44,716,219.32 | 6,583,355.77 | 14.7% |
| Total | $243,316,654.81 | $41,271,727.97 | 17.0% |