Arkansas Lottery: Voters overwhelmingly approve Arkansas state lottery

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Voters have approved a measure creating a statewide lottery for Arkansas, overturning a ban set in the state's constitution since 1874.

About two-thirds of voters supported the lottery measure championed by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, which will fund college scholarships through ticket sales. About 36 percent cast votes against the measure.

Halter has said a lottery would raise $100 million annually and likely would have scratch-off games and lottery drawings like other states. The Legislature will decide what types of games will be offered during its 2009 session.

Those opposing the lottery measure warned it would subsidize scholarships on the backs of the state's poor.

Arkansas is one of only eight states in the nation without a lottery.

The United Methodists Against Gambling issued the following statement Tuesday night in reaction to the lottery's passage.

United Methodists Against Gambling (UMAG) and The Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church deeply regret that Amendment 3 has passed. We felt, and continue to feel, that a state-run lottery is not in the best interest of the people of Arkansas.

We will monitor the planning and implementation of the lottery should it be authorized by the legislature and will consider future actions accordingly.

For now, we urge the legislature (1) to reject a state lottery, (2) to enact alternative methods for funding college scholarships, (3) to refer to the 2010 general election ballot a constitutional amendment that restricts the definition of state lotteries to exclude all games of chance except the sale of lottery tickets, and (4) if a lottery is authorized, to enact restrictions on targeting low and middle income citizens and the elderly when the State promotes and advertises the lottery.

"Our next step must be to persuade the legislature to reject lotteries or, at the least, severely restrict them, while finding other revenue to fund college scholarships," said Scott Trotter, UMAG co-chair.

We thank our co-chairs, Rev. Roger Glover and Mr. Scott Trotter as well as United Methodist pastors and lay members across the state for their tireless effort in speaking out against the amendment and increasing awareness of the negative outcomes associated with it. We are indebted to them for their work.