Today the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of September.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in nearly $35.2 million, but set aside less than $7.8 million for college scholarships — about 22 cents of every dollar the Lottery made.

So far, the Arkansas Lottery is on track to pay about $85 million dollars for college scholarships in fiscal year 2019 — well below the $100 million Lottery proponents promised Arkansans ten years ago.

The truth is the Arkansas Lottery never has lived up to its promises. Scholarship funding has remained dismal while the Lottery’s salaries, contract fees, advertising budget, and overhead expenses have remained high.

State lotteries prey on the poor and pull millions of dollars out of the state economy.

Below is a breakdown of lottery revenue and scholarship funding so far this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $42,413,352.70 $5,066,628.73 11.9%
August 40,343,279.62 6,175,998.40 15.3%
September 35,198,809.72 7,783,450.82 22.1%
Total $117,955,442.04 $19,026,077.95 16.1%