Yesterday, lawmakers passed a bill abolishing the Arkansas Lottery Commission and making the Lottery part of the Department of Finance and Administration.
When the Arkansas Legislature established the Arkansas Lottery Commission in 2009, they made it an independent state agency with its own commissioners and very little outside accountability.
As a result, Arkansas has rolled out more gambling more quickly than any other state lottery we know; we have seen Lottery officials paid exorbitant salaries while college scholarships funded by the Lottery declined.
Senate Bill 7 brings more accountability to the Lottery by disbanding the Lottery Commission and making the Arkansas Lottery answerable to the Department of Finance and Administration as well as the Governor’s Office.
The bill passed unanimously in the Arkansas Senate two weeks ago, and it passed overwhelmingly in the Arkansas House yesterday.
It now goes to Governor Hutchinson, who has said he will sign it.
