Wal-Mart store gives lottery a try

Bentonville To-Go outlet is only site offering state games

With no fanfare, a Wal-Mart convenience store in Bentonville has begun selling Arkansas Scholarship Lottery tickets, the first Wal-Mart store in the state to offer them.

Arkansas' lottery started selling tickets in the Walmart To-Go convenience store at 1300 S. Walton Blvd. on June 12, said Molly Blakeman, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Florida is the only other state in which Wal-Mart sells lottery tickets, and Florida lottery tickets have been sold in 50 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market stores since 2011 in a pilot program, she said.

Arkansas Lottery Director Bishop Woosley advised the Arkansas Lottery Commission in an email dated Friday that the lottery and Wal-Mart are now working together.

"Walmart asked us to limit publicity of the [Arkansas Lottery Commission] selling in this new store at this time until such time as they are settled in selling lottery [tickets]," Woosley said in an email obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. "Hence, the very low key launch."

Nonetheless, Woosley told the nine-member commission that "we are excited to be the second lottery in the United States to partner with Walmart and are excited about the future."

"This is a very big deal," he said in his email. "I wanted you to be the first to know."

Woosley said Wednesday in a written statement that he couldn't be more pleased about the availability of Arkansas' lottery products at the Walmart To-Go store in Bentonville.

"With this new relationship, we have the opportunity to raise more money for college scholarships for the students of our state," he said.

The lottery's records show that a written statement dated June 12 was drafted in which Woosley announced that the Walmart To-Go store started selling lottery tickets, but it wasn't released to the public.

Woosley explained Wednesday that "the release was prepared to be responsive to a press inquiry rather than to serve as a proactive release on our part." His remarks Wednesday echoed the written statement dated June 12.

Wal-Mart also drafted a two-page set of talking points about the lottery ticket sales, highlighting what it called its "key messages." A copy of the document, dated June 11, was included in the lottery's response to the Freedom of Information Act request.

During the past two fiscal years, the lottery has experienced a dip in ticket sales and net proceeds raised for college scholarships. That's prompted the Lottery Commission to take several actions, including authorizing the implementation of a quick-draw game that some call keno and that some lawmakers want to ban under state law. The commission also has approved an increase in lottery advertising, with the aim of boosting ticket sales and net proceeds. The lottery has helped finance scholarships for more than 30,000 students during each of the past four years; ticket sales began Sept. 28, 2009.

"While the possibility of expanding our presence beyond the concept store has not been established, we certainly hope to have the opportunity to add more Wal-Mart stores to our lottery retailer network in the future," Woosley said.

Wal-Mart has 107 stores in Arkansas, said Blakeman.

As to how Arkansas lottery officials persuaded Wal-Mart to begin selling tickets in one of its stores after more than 41/2 years, Woosley replied that, "The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is always trying to expand its retailer network across the state to increase sales and maximize scholarship revenue."

Blakeman said Wal-Mart decided to allow the sale of lottery tickets in the To-Go store in Bentonville, because company officials are always listening to customers and looking for the best way to serve them, and "this is an example of that."

Wal-Mart officials will monitor the customer response to the lottery ticket sales at the store to determine the "next appropriate step," she said.

The Walmart To-Go convenience store in Bentonville is the only one in the nation and opened earlier this year in a "test format," Blakeman said.

Located near the company's headquarters, it sells gas, drinks and snacks, plus fresh fruit, frozen goods, dairy products and other items.

Asked if Wal-Mart officials expect any criticism for selling lottery tickets at one of the retailer's stores in Arkansas, Blakeman said they are excited about being able to expand their offerings to include lottery tickets.

Metro on 06/19/2014

Upcoming Events