In an article from today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, State Senator Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana) is quoted as asking the Arkansas Lottery Commission to reconsider its decision to move forward with the “monitor games” we told you about a few weeks ago.
The games would be played over TV screens in bars, restaurants, or convenience stores, and could lead to miniature casinos popping up around Arkansas under the auspices of the lottery. Needless to say, many legislators are deeply concerned about this.
What is telling, however, are the revenue projections for these monitor games. The games are expected to bring in an additional $12.5 million in 2015, raising gross ticket sales to approximately $428.7 million for the year.
$428.7 million sounds like a lot of money, but it only translates into about $83 – $90 million for scholarships–far short of the lottery’s ever-illusive $100 million goal.
In other words, monitor games won’t make the Arkansas Lottery successful. They will only make it slightly less of a failure.
The Arkansas Lottery does not suffer from a ticket sales problem. It suffers from a management problem. Administrative costs are out of control, and the students who were supposed to reap the most benefit from the Lottery are consistently its lowest priority.
According to the Lottery’s own numbers, these monitor games arguably cannot save the Arkansas Lottery. With that in mind–and given the reservations so many people have expressed about the games–is there really any reason to implement them?
