Arkansas Lottery: In the Business of Education?

From Biz2Biz NWA, January 2010, “The Business of Education”

If only we could all have such business success. In less than 90 days from opening its doors to business, the Arkansas Lottery hit its $100 million mark. Not that it hasn’t been a quarter filled with its share of startup troubles, but when the books close on 2009, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) staff envisions a 25% net profit, with over $25 million allocated to the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship program

“It’s all about scholarships, and if an individual scholarship is valued at $5,000, then our collective efforts so far equate to over 5,000 Arkansans receiving lottery financial aid next year,” says Ernie Passailaigue, ASL Lottery Executive Director.

“The ASL Commission and staff worked days, nights, and weekends to launch the lottery in record time, but it wasn’t about setting records—it was about speeding the flow of scholarship dollars to help as many Arkansas students as possible,” he says.

The purpose of the ASL is to provide scholarships and grants to Arkansas residents enrolled in public and private nonprofit two-year and four-year colleges and universities within the state.

The first scholarships will be awarded to students entering Arkansas colleges and universities in the fall of 2010. Scholarship application forms go online in January at www.adhe.edu.

Scholarships will be awarded to students solely on merit and without regard to family income, and will apply to any accredited 2- or 4-year, public or private college and university in Arkansas.

As for the lottery business, Arkansas will operate similar to the other 41 states currently operating lotteries. Some 50 to 60 percent of ticket sales are returned to buyers as prizes. As of early December 2009, that figure represented $62 million in prizes in Arkansas. Another 5 to 7 percent goes to the retailers who sell lottery tickets as commissions. About 3 to 5 percent are used for administrative costs. Advertising represents an estimated one percent. That leaves 25 to 30 percent as net proceeds to fund public programs.

Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter says that over time, the program will significantly expand job opportunities and raise incomes in Arkansas. “The link between a higher education and a higher per capita income is an undeniable fact,” he says.  “I look forward to a time when all Arkansans who work hard and play by the rules will have the opportunity for a higher education. The Scholarship Lottery puts us one step closer to achieving that dream.”

Diversity is a Winner

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) wants minority-owned and women-owned businesses to have opportunities to participate in the lottery business.

In a program titled, “Diversity is the Winning Ticket: Doing Business with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery” held in Little Rock in December, movers and shakers took a look at ASL’s future-focused supplier development plan.

State Representative Darrin Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas Economic Development Commission Director of Small and Minority Business Division Patricia Brown, and Arkansas Lottery Commission Chairman Ray Thornton joined ASL team members,  executive director Ernie Passailaigue, Ernestine Middleton, Bishop Woosley, and newly appointed Ivan Hudson, manager of the minority and diversity business enterprise to speak on the opportunities for minority business contracting, sub-contracting and becoming an ASL retailer.