Arkansas Lottery Still Leans Heavily on Expensive Scratch-Off Tickets

Arkansas Lottery

The Arkansas Lottery still leans heavily on expensive scratch-off tickets that sell for $10 or $20 each, according to information on the lottery’s website.

On the whole, instant ticket sales make up most of the Arkansas Lottery’s income.

For example, the lottery’s financial reports for May show 85% of sales revenue came from instant tickets. Only about 8% of the lottery’s revenue came from Powerball and Mega Millions.

Scratch-off tickets are controversial, because they are thought to be more likely to contribute to problem gambling and gambling addiction.

A 2015 study in Canada found a link between problem gambling and instant lottery tickets, writing,

It is possible that problem gamblers are more attracted to instant win tickets than lottery tickets because instant win tickets provide immediate feedback. Some authors have even described instant win tickets as “paper slot machines” (Griffiths, 2002). Therefore, instant win tickets might be considered a more exciting form of lottery gambling, which may help explain why it attracts a different type of gambler than [ordinary] lottery tickets do. 

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions also found a link between how often a person played scratch-off tickets and the severity of a person’s gambling problem.

Besides selling millions of dollars worth of scratch-off tickets every month, many of the Arkansas Lottery’s tickets are priced as high as $10 or $20 each.

These tickets entice players with long odds on big prizes.

People who spend $20 on a scratch-off ticket from the Arkansas Lottery have roughly a two-in-three chance of losing their money — and the odds of winning a jackpot prize can be as high as one in 920,000.

For years, the Arkansas Lottery has followed a pattern of regularly rolling out new scratch-off tickets and budgeting upwards of 69% or 70% of its revenue for prizes in an ongoing effort to prop up lottery ticket sales.

Only about 17 – 18 cents of every dollar the Arkansas Lottery makes actually goes to college scholarships.

For perspective, the typical state lottery spends about 60% of its revenue on prizes and 30% on education.

Family Council has supported legislation in the past that would restructure the Arkansas Lottery’s budget to increase spending on education. The state-run lottery could provides millions of dollars more in scholarship funding if it simply would reduce its prize budget and increase its scholarship budget to align with other state lotteries. 

Unfortunately, there simply doesn’t seem to be much incentive to do that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Heavy Marijuana Use Increases Risk of Surgery Complications: New Study

Marijuana

Heavy marijuana use increases major health risks surrounding elective surgeries, according to a new study.

The report published in JAMA Surgery found heavy marijuana use increases risks for complications such as insufficient blood flow to the heart, acute kidney injury, stroke, respiratory failure, and blood clots.

Researchers used the National Inpatient Sample database to analyze data from more than 12,400 hospitalizations after major elective surgeries between 2016 and 2019.

The study’s authors noted, “Our findings complement previous studies that have identified significant associations between cannabis use disorders [heavy marijuana use] and perioperative complications.”

Contrary to popular belief, marijuana use is not a harmless recreational activity. This latest study underscores that fact.

A 2023 study found marijuana use during pregnancy could decrease a newborn’s birthweight by approximately one-third of a pound.

A 2021 study out of California found infants were 35% more likely to die within a year of birth if their mother used marijuana heavily, and that infants were more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight, and be small for their gestational age.

Marijuana use can impair cognitive function, memory, and attention — especially for teens and young adults.

Research also indicates marijuana use may affect coordination and motor skills — potentially increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.

Marijuana use is scientifically linked to heart diseases, according to the American Heart Association.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found adults under age 45 who frequently use marijuana are roughly twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack as adults who do not use marijuana.

Smoking marijuana on a regular basis is associated with chronic cough and phlegm production. The American Lung Association writes simply that, “Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung.”

An NIH study published this year found young men who use marijuana heavily are at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.

A 2022 study published in The Lancet determined that using marijuana with high levels of THC was linked to an increased risk of psychosis.

A 2021 report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found self-harm rates rose 46% among men ages 21 to 39 in states where commercial marijuana sales were legalized.

A 2019 study published in The Lancet found using marijuana with THC levels exceeding 10% increased the odds of a person suffering a psychotic episode.

The list goes on and one.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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