According to a press release from the Arkansas Lottery Office, the state-run lottery is “trending toward [a] record year.”
Earlier this month the lottery sold $10,755,205 worth of scratch-off tickets in a single week — a state record.
As we have written before, scratch-off tickets are controversial, because they are tied to problem gambling and gambling addiction.
In spite of that, the Arkansas Lottery relies very heavily on them for revenue.
The Lottery is on track to sell about $480 million worth of tickets this fiscal year, which would be its third-highest year ever.
However, the Arkansas Lottery also is on track to pay only $80 million to college scholarships this fiscal year — its lowest year since 2015.
At the Arkansas Lottery, ticket sales are up, but scholarship funding is down.
There’s something wrong with that picture.
Photo Credit: Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Billboard in Missouri by Tony Webster, on Flickr.
