By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Scratch-off lottery tickets go on sale in Arkansas on Monday, but Gov. Mike Beebe says he won’t be a customer.
“I’m not buying one. No thank you,” Beebe told the Arkansas News Bureau today.
“I’m not into it,” Beebe said. “Anybody wants to buy one, they’re free to buy one. It’s not a moral thing at all. I’m just not interested in buying one.”
Arkansas voters last year approved a constitutional amendment to create a state-run lottery to fund college scholarships. Beebe voted against the measure but did not speak publicly against it before the election.
“I thought it would hurt folks who sometimes could least afford to be spending money on that,” Beebe said Wednesday. “There was some fairly good evidence that in some other states a lot of folks who had difficulty paying their bills, supporting their kids, etc., oftentimes ended up spending money on a lottery. That could be counterproductive.”
Having more money available for college scholarships will be a good thing, however, Beebe said.
“I love to have the money,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who led the campaign for a scholarship lottery, said he will “certainly” buy a ticket Monday.
“I am especially pleased that this is drawing more and more attention to the necessity of higher education, not only for individual Arkansans but for our entire state,” Halter said today. “It’s necessary for the high living standards that we want for individual Arkansans, but it’s also necessary — it’s critical — for the economic advancement of the state.”
