Arkansas Lottery Contributes $300 Million to Scholarships
By: KNWA News
Updated: December 11, 2012
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery's contribution to scholarships has surpassed the $300-million mark.
The milestone was reached at the end of November, lottery officials announced today.
Lottery sales began September 28, 2009, and the agency has operated for 38 months, producing an average of $7.9 Million per month in scholarships for Arkansas students.
"In three years, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has provided funding for more than 90,000 scholarships," Director Bishop Woosley said. "With the support of our Commission, the Governor, and the Legislative Oversight Committee, we have done our best to run a financially sound operation with security and integrity in our gaming offerings, factual and effective advertising, transparency in our day-to-day business, and fairness to our players and retailers. We are, above all, proud of the thousands of scholarship students--those who have graduated and those working toward their goals. We are grateful to Arkansas lottery players who enjoy the games and contribute to the scholarships, and we could not sell a single ticket without the hard work of our retailer partners throughout Arkansas."
Arkansas is the most recent startup of the 43 states with lotteries. States still without lotteries include Nevada, Mississippi, Alaska, Hawaii, Alabama, Utah, and Wyoming.
The creation of the Arkansas Lottery began in November 2008 when 63-percent of state voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing a lottery solely to benefit Arkansas college students. The Arkansas Legislature in 2009 passed the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act, creating the agency and setting up the structure for a 9-member Commission appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate.
The Commission first met in May 2009, and staffers began working in June 2009, resulting in the offering of the first four tickets in late September.
The Lottery now sells about 75 instant and online tickets, through a retailer base of almost 1,900 businesses in all 75 Arkansas counties.
The milestone was reached at the end of November, lottery officials announced today.
Lottery sales began September 28, 2009, and the agency has operated for 38 months, producing an average of $7.9 Million per month in scholarships for Arkansas students.
"In three years, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has provided funding for more than 90,000 scholarships," Director Bishop Woosley said. "With the support of our Commission, the Governor, and the Legislative Oversight Committee, we have done our best to run a financially sound operation with security and integrity in our gaming offerings, factual and effective advertising, transparency in our day-to-day business, and fairness to our players and retailers. We are, above all, proud of the thousands of scholarship students--those who have graduated and those working toward their goals. We are grateful to Arkansas lottery players who enjoy the games and contribute to the scholarships, and we could not sell a single ticket without the hard work of our retailer partners throughout Arkansas."
Arkansas is the most recent startup of the 43 states with lotteries. States still without lotteries include Nevada, Mississippi, Alaska, Hawaii, Alabama, Utah, and Wyoming.
The creation of the Arkansas Lottery began in November 2008 when 63-percent of state voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing a lottery solely to benefit Arkansas college students. The Arkansas Legislature in 2009 passed the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act, creating the agency and setting up the structure for a 9-member Commission appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate.
The Commission first met in May 2009, and staffers began working in June 2009, resulting in the offering of the first four tickets in late September.
The Lottery now sells about 75 instant and online tickets, through a retailer base of almost 1,900 businesses in all 75 Arkansas counties.
