Arkansas Scholarship Lottery

Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
Key people
  • Bishop Woosley, Director
  • Julie Baldridge, Director of Public Affairs & Legislative Relations
  • Jerry Fetzer, Chief Fiscal Officer
  • Valierie Basham, Director of Human Resources
  • Joanna Bunten, Director of Advertising & Marketing
  • Lance Huey, Director of Security
  • Timothy Parrish, Director of Treasury
  • Mike Smith, Director of Gaming
  • Robert Stebbins, Director of Sales

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is run by the government of Arkansas.

History

On November 4, 2008, Arkansas voters approved a ballot question legalizing the sale of lottery tickets there. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act establishes a Commission to oversee the operation of the Lottery in Arkansas (see Arkansas Lottery Commission below). On July 1, 2009, Arkansas voted to join the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL); it was the 33rd lottery to join.

Ticket buyers must be at least 18, which is the usual minimum age for US lotteries, but lower than in neighboring Louisiana. Video lottery is prohibited. Arkansas started selling scratch off tickets on September 28, 2009. Powerball tickets went on sale on October 31, 2009.[1] Mega Millions tickets went on sale in Arkansas on January 31, 2010.

Arkansas conducts its in-house draw games using a random number generator (RNG); it is believed to be the first US lottery to begin with computerized drawings. Balls and drawing machines are not used by the Lottery, although this "classic" drawing method is used in Arkansas' multi-jurisdictional games (Decades of Dollars, Mega Millions, and Powerball.)

Arkansas Lottery Commission

Subchapter 2 of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act establishes the creation of the Arkansas Lottery Commission. The subchapter establishes the Commission or Lottery as a self-supporting and revenue-raising agency of the state. The commission has 9 members by law, of whom three are appointed by the Governor, three are appointed by the Speaker of the state House of Representatives, and three are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the state Senate. After the initial appointment of commissioners, the normal term of each commissioner is six years. Commissioners may not serve more than two terms of six years and may not be General Assembly members or anyone in their immediate family.

Current Commissioners

Former Commissioners

Staff

Draw games timeline

Draw games

Multi-jurisdiction draw games

Lucky for Life

Main article: Lucky for Life

Lucky for Life began as a Connecticut-only game, Lucky-4-Life, in 2009. Eventually it added five lotteries and became a regional game under the current name. The current version began on January 27, 2015; it is available in 15 states plus the District of Columbia.

Lucky for Life's two highest prize tiers ($1000-per-day and $25,000-per-year) are "lifetime" prizes; winners of either tier can choose cash instead. The drawings remain in Connecticut; winning numbers are chosen using two drawing machines with numbered balls.

Mega Millions

Main article: Mega Millions

In 2010, lotteries then with either Mega Millions or Powerball could begin offering both. The current version of Mega Millions began in 2013. Drawings are held in Atlanta using a similar draw method as in Lucky for Life.

Powerball

Main article: Powerball

Former multi-state games

Decades of Dollars

Decades of Dollars began in 2011 in three states, with Arkansas joining a few months later. DoD became a Virginia-only game when Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky participated in the launch of Monopoly Millionaires′ Club (see below.)

Monopoly Millionaires′ Club

Monopoly Millionaires′ Club began in October 2014 in 22 states and the District of Columbia; however, poor sales largely due to player confusion led to the game suspending sales after only 10 draws of the Friday-only game.

A television game show featuring Monopoly Millionaires′ Club players is to air beginning March 28, 2015.

Arkansas-only draw games

Cash 3

Cash 3 is a game that has 13 drawings weekly (twice daily except Sundays). It began on December 14, 2009. Prices, prizes, and options vary.

Cash 4

Cash 4 was originally to begin in February 2010,[4] but was delayed until July 2010. It also has 13 weekly drawings. Prices, prizes, and options will vary; the maximum prize is $5,000 on a $1 play.[3]

Natural State Jackpot

On August 27, 2012, sales of tickets for Natural State Jackpot began. Five numbers are drawn. As with other Arkansas-only drawing games, winning numbers are chosen by a random number generator. Drawings are nightly, except Sundays. The average jackpot (all cash) averages approximately $150,000.

Play It Again

Every Arkansas Scholarship Lottery instant game qualifies for entry into a "Play It Again" drawing. When the game is over, the top cash prize winner will be selected randomly from all qualifying entries for that game.

Some player-favorite games like Jumbo Bucks may always be available to play. Periodically, there will be second chance drawings scheduled to award the top prize from those games.[5]

References

  1. ↑ http://arkansasmatters.com/content/news/Lottery_Fulltext?cid=258812
  2. ↑ http://www.powerball.com/content/pressreleases/show_release.asp?release_id=2707[]
  3. 1 2 http://myarkansaslottery.com/games
  4. ↑ http://arkansaslotteryinsider.blogspot.com/2009/10/102709-date-update.html
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-05-16.

Sources

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