Arkansas lottery revenue slips with rise in gas prices
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Arkansas Scholarship Lottery's revenue and amount raised for college scholarships in April slipped from a year ago. The average price of regular unleaded gas in Arkansas reached $3.99 a gallon Wednesday. Lotteries director Eric Hagler says record fuel prices, higher ring in the grocery lane and rising interest rates have all combined to create unusual headwinds. In April 2021, the lottery's revenues reached $65.5 million and the net proceeds for scholarships hit $12.2 million. The lottery started selling tickets Sept. 28, 2009. It's helped raise money for Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships for more than 30,000 students during each of the past 11 fiscal years.
Arkansas Division of Higher Education has awarded 27,918 scholarships to 27.917 students so far in fiscal 2022. The division forecast to give out $90 million in these scholarships in 2022, down from $86 million a year ago. Workforce Challenge Scholarship is funded by excess proceeds from the lottery's net proceeds and $20 million from state general revenue. Concurrent Challenge is a new scholarship program. It will provide up to $800 a student for students enrolled in programs that lead to qualifications in high-demand occupations.
