State lottery posts $89.9 million for college scholarships

The Arkansas lottery generated $89.1 million for college scholarships in the fiscal year that ended June 30, but that's about 10 percent less than projected in the budget the lottery proposed the year before.

Numbers released Wednesday show that gamblers bought almost $42 million less in scratch tickets for the fiscal year.

Because of revenue shortfalls, legislators this year altered the formula for scholarship awards, giving university freshmen $2,000, with the amount rising by $1,000 annually through their senior year.

Lottery director Bishop Woosley has been working to promote draw games, such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Those games had revenue almost $1 million more than expected but still accounted for only 17 percent of spending by players.

Gross revenue was $440 million compared to the projected $481 million.

Read more in Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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