July 11, 2023

Arkansas Lottery Sets New Records In Proceeds for Scholarships and Sales

Little Rock, ARK.

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) announced today it raised a record $114,767,979 in proceeds for fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30. Since its inception in 2009, ASL has raised more than $1.2 billion in scholarship proceeds. FY23 was also the second-highest financial year in sales with $607,561,125. 

“We are in the entertainment business; however, we never lose sight of our objective of helping Arkansas students pursue a higher education,” said Eric Hagler, ASL executive director. “This mission will continue to have a long-term positive economic impact on our state.” 

The previous record for net proceeds was in FY21 with $106,417,224 raised. FY21 is the highest sales year to date with $631,934,927. 

Hagler states the lottery is unmistakably a win for everyone at every stage of the lottery process. 

Lottery proceeds help fund several scholarships awarded by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. 

The Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship provides tuition assistance for Arkansans at two- and four-year public and private colleges.

The Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship is available for students applying for certificate programs in high-demand occupations.

The Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship provides financial assistance to eligible students in the state who want to take college courses while still in high school.

During the recent legislative session, the legislature created the Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship, which provides additional funding for students with an Academic Challenge Scholarship based on their financial needs. Challenge Plus will start accepting students in the fall of 2024.

Arkansas Lottery players and retailers were also winners during FY 2023. ASL made nine new millionaires and paid out $416,827,209 million in life-changing prizes to players resulting in approximately $34,300,134 million in retailer commissions. 

Hagler praised ASL staff for their hard work contributing to the record year.

“Our dedicated team of professionals worked diligently this year to outperform every metric from the previous fiscal year,” he said. “Every division played a crucial role in our success.”

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 720,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4.6 billion in prizes to players, about $386 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $167 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To hear winning numbers, call the Winning Numbers Hotline at 501-682-IWON (4966). To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.