Fiscal 2016 was a record-breaking year for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery in terms of ticket sales, in part because of a record Powerball jackpot in January, according to officials.
Total sales for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, were $455.6 million, an 11.5 percent increase from fiscal 2015, according to a Monday news release.
Instant ticket sales increased by $25 million from the previous year, while draw games were up more than $22 million, according to figures released this week to the state Legislature's Lottery Oversight Committee.
Arkansas lottery director Bishop Woosley told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last month that he expected the lottery to raise about $84 to $85 million for college scholarships.
Net-proceed figures exceeded that prediction, with $85.4 million available for scholarships, according to lottery officials.
In fiscal 2015, the lottery raised $72.4 million for college scholarships, according to the Democrat-Gazette.
Larry W. Walther, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, called the fiscal 2016 data "good news" for the lottery and Arkansas' college students.
“The promise of the lottery is ensuring more of our best and brightest attend college, and I look forward to ensuring that promise is kept,” Walther said.
The fiscal 2016 data means that, for the first year since fiscal 2012, the state lottery's revenue and net proceeds haven’t decreased from the previous fiscal year.
Arkansas’ lottery has provided more than $600 million for in-state college scholarships to students since sales began in 2009.
Read Tuesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.