The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery will roll out a new statewide raffle game with a top $1 million prize and more than 40 new instant tickets in the next year, officials said Monday.
Agency director Bishop Woosley said at a lottery commission meeting that the second Million Dollar Raffle will have some key differences from the first one in 2010, in which ticket sales started off slowly because a draw date wasn't set.
Woosley said ticket sales for the new raffle will begin soon with four draws already set: three early-bird draws in October, November and December offering prizes of up to $10,000, and a grand prize drawing on Jan. 2 to award the $1 million.
A single ticket could conceivably win a prize four times if it were purchased before all four drawings. The tickets will cost $10 each, though the agency will offer three for $20 and six for $30, Woosley said.
"We're hoping this one will be successful and we'll have steady sales throughout the game," Woosley said.
Speaking during a presentation offering a tentative overview of the lottery's plan over the next year, Woosley said the agency will also create 46 new instant ticket games in that span. Last year, 81 percent of sales were instant scratch-off tickets which differ from online tickets like Powerball and Mega Millions.
Among the offerings, one will be St. Louis Cardinals-themed and may offer prizes like World Series tickets and game packages, officials said. Another game will be branded with Bass Pro Shops logos.
Also during Monday's meeting, Woosley said the lottery's Natural State Jackpot proved successful in its first year. The agency projected $6 million in sales after it debuted last August. By July 31, it had sold $7,784,629 and awarded $3,900,801 in prizes.
"A lot of people said this type of game wouldn't work here," Woosley said. "I think we proved them wrong."