By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Retailers who sell Arkansas lottery tickets would receive a commission of 5 cents for every $1 in ticket sales under rules approved Wednesday by the state Lottery Commission.
The commission also heard a report on employee hires from Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue, who said he has hired one lottery executive from his home state of South Carolina and is “99 percent certain” he will be able to hire a second.
The rules for lottery retailers also call for retailers to receive 1 cent for every $1 in prize money redeemed and 1 percent of the prize amount on any ticket redeemed for a prize of $10,000 or more, with the retailers’ commission not to exceed $25,000.
Retailers will be required to cash winning tickets for prizes up to $600. Larger prizes can be collected at the lottery’s central office in Little Rock, at two or three district offices around the state or by mail.
More than 1,000 retailers in the state have expressed interest in selling lottery tickets, Passailaigue said. He has estimated that about 2,500 retailers will sell tickets in the first months of the lottery’s operation, with more possibly signing up later.
The rules for retailers require a fee of $10 for an initial application, $50 for annual renewal of a license and $25 to add a store location.
Potential retailers will be required to undergo criminal background checks.
Passailaigue told the commission he has hired Ernestine Middleton, director of internal operations for South Carolina’s lottery, to be the lottery’s vice president of administration at an annual salary of $225,000.
David Barden, director of marketing and product development for South Carolina’s lottery, is expected to accept the position of vice president of gaming at the same salary, unless he gets offered Passailaigue’s old job, said Passailaigue, who served as director of South Carolina’s lottery from 2001 until the end of June.
Passailaigue said he expects to hire Arkansans for most management positions, based on the quality of resumes he has seen.
“I am so happy with the situation in terms of the talent pool here,” he said.
The commission also approved a request for proposals from banks interested in providing their services to the lottery. Banks must ready to begin by Aug. 28.
Commissioners Dianne Lamberth of Batesville and Joe White of Conway, both members of bank boards, abstained from voting on the RFP for banks.
