By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ lottery ranked fifth in the nation in per capita sales of instant-win tickets in the first quarter of 2010, a ranking that lottery officials applauded today but a lottery opponent said was no cause for pride.
La Fleur’s, a magazine that covers the lottery industry, reported in its May-June issue that Massachusetts had the highest per capita sales of instant-win tickets, followed in descending order by Georgia, New York, Connecticut and Arkansas.
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery’s ranking was unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2009. Sales of instant-win tickets began in September.
Arkansas’ lottery sold $38 worth of instant-win tickets per person in the first three months of this year. That’s $4 less than Connecticut’s per capita sales.
“Our Arkansas Scholarship Lottery continues to surpass all original expectations for success,” Arkansas Lottery Commission Chairman Dianne Lamberth said today. “This is good news for Arkansas students, now and in the future.”
The state Department of Higher Education began notifying the recipients of the first lottery-funded college scholarships last month. The scholarships are $5,000 per year to attend a four-year school and $2,500 per year to attend a two-year school.
Jerry Cox, executive director of the Christian conservative Family Council and an opponent of the lottery, said today that the state’s ranking in ticket sales is “nothing to brag about.”
Cox said there is no denying that Arkansas will have more money to award in scholarships because of the lottery, but he said there is another side to the story.
“What the people of Arkansas need to do is, they need to weigh that against the harm and the loss and the number of people who don’t have enough money for the basic necessities because somebody bought too many lottery tickets. That’s the untold story that I wish people would look at,” he said.
