Updated: State Lottery Rolls Out New $20 Scratch-Off Ticket

Arkansas Lottery

Earlier this month the Arkansas Lottery rolled out a new scratch-off ticket that sells for $20 and offers a top prize of $1 million.

The odds of winning any prize at all — including a $20 break-even prize — from this ticket are about 1 in 3 — meaning a person will lose, on average, $40 or more for every $20 he or she wins from this scratch-off ticket.

To put it another way, people who spend $20 on this scratch-off ticket have a 66% chance of losing their money.

The odds of winning a $1 million jackpot prize are a staggering 1 in approximately 640,000!

Last October we wrote about how these expensive scratch-off tickets prey on the truly desperate.

They entice Arkansans to spend a lot of money on a single lottery ticket in hopes of a big payout.

This is just another example of the Arkansas Lottery preying on the poor in our state.

This article has been updated to correct the odds of winning a jackpot prize.

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Arkansas Lottery’s Scholarship Funding Remains Dismal: November Report

Arkansas Lottery

This week the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of November.

The report indicates the Arkansas Lottery made more than $36.1 million in November, but paid less than $6 million to college scholarships.

So far this fiscal year the Lottery has given the state’s Academic Challenge Scholarship fund less than 15 cents out of every dollar the Lottery has made.

Last month the Arkansas Lottery spent more than four times as much on lottery ticket prizes as it did on scholarships.

Lottery revenue this year is down by only 2.6% over this time two years ago, but scholarship funding is down by 18% from 2017 and 23.7% from last year.

Below is a breakdown of Lottery revenue and scholarship spending so far this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $41,239,173.79 $4,523,930.75 11.0%
August 40,899,086.75 4,942,736.97 12.1%
September 36,202,677.79 6,565,973.32 18.1%
October 38,932,640.23 6,318,099.21 16.2%
November 36,118,641.12 5,947,177.45 16.5%
Total $193,392,219.68 $28,297,917.70 14.6%

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AR Lottery Giving 14 Cents of Every Dollar to Students

Arkansas Lottery

Recently the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of October.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in nearly $39 million last month, but set aside only $6.3 million for scholarships.

All told, so far this fiscal year the Arkansas Lottery has given college students a paltry 14.2% of its revenue.

For perspective, the average state lottery pays about 30% and some states pay even more.

Since July, the Arkansas Lottery has spent nearly $22 million on contracts, salaries, retailer commissions, marketing, advertising, promotions, and administrative expenses.

Last year the Arkansas Lottery spent nearly three times as much on prizes as it did on college scholarships.

Ten years running, the Arkansas Lottery is an absolute embarrassment to the state.

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

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $41,239,173.79 $4,523,930.75 11.0%
August 40,899,086.75 4,942,736.97 12.1%
September 36,202,677.79 6,565,973.32 18.1%
October 38,932,640.23 6,318,099.21 16.2%
Total $157,273,578.56 $22,350,740.25 14.2%

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