This week, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) joined lotteries across North America in celebrating the seventh annual Lottery Week.

Launched in 2018 in conjunction with National Lottery Day, Lottery Week was designed to recognize lotteries across North America for their contributions to their communities.

ASL was established in 2009 to raise proceeds for student scholarships. Since then, lottery ticket sales have raised over $1.5 billion to support more than 822,000 scholarships awarded by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. These scholarships include the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship and the ACCESS to Acceleration program.

“As an organization, raising funds for student scholarships is both our mission and our motivation,” said ASL Executive Director Sharon Strong. “We’re proud to be able to contribute to Arkansas’ higher education pursuits through our work.”

Additionally, ASL supports more than 2,000 licensed retailers across the state. The lottery has provided more than $454 million in retailer commissions since its launch, with each retailer receiving a 5% commission on their lottery ticket sales.

“We’re thankful for the hard work and dedication of all of our retailers,” Strong said. “With more than $8 billion sold in lottery products, it is their continued commitment to the lottery that helps us work toward our mission.”

Of course, ASL also has a duty to its players, whose lottery ticket purchases are key to ASL’s proceed-raising efforts.

In 2019, the lottery earned its Responsible Gambling Certification from the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) and the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). In collaboration with these organizations, ASL encourages Arkansans to play responsibly and provides resources for players who may struggle with problem gambling. The lottery also regularly trains its employees and retailers to encourage responsible selling practices.

ASL has awarded more than $5 billion in lottery prizes to its players, including the $5.123 million and $2.338 million jackpots won on LOTTO, an Arkansas-exclusive draw game.

“Lottery Week is an important way to highlight the many ways lotteries give back to their communities,” said David Gale, Executive Director of NASPL. “This week, we celebrated not only the vital programs and services supported by lottery proceeds, but also the commitment and dedication of our lottery and vendor employees. And of course, we thank our players and retailers for making it all possible.”

For more information about the lottery, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) creates winning people, winning futures, and winning moments. Since 2009, the ASL has sold over $8 billion and returned more than $1.5 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 822,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $5 billion in prizes to players, more than $454 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $187 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.