The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery's director of marketing and advertising and its director of security and compliance have submitted their resignations, effective at the end of next week.
Director of Marketing and Advertising Ashley McNatt and Director of Security and Compliance Justin Webb submitted resignation letters dated March 28 to the state "Department of Finance & Administration Human Resources Attn: Amy Valentine," effective April 12, according to state records. The lottery is part of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
The resignations were submitted on the same day that Eric Hagler, who had served as executive director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery since August 2020, tendered his resignation. Hagler's salary was $189,667 a year.
McNatt and Webb submitted their resignations after Hagler submitted his resignation, state Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said.
Asked whether the lottery management asked McNatt and/or Webb to resign from the lottery, Hardin said Friday in a written statement that "DFA does not comment on personnel changes."
McNatt could not be reached for comment by telephone Friday.
Hardin said on March 28 that state Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson did not make a request for Hagler's resignation, and "Secretary Hudson and Eric never discussed the subject. We wish him the best as he pursues new opportunities and appreciate his service to the state."
Hudson wrote in an undated text message to Hagler, "Best Wishes to you Eric. Thank you for your years of service to the state. When asked, I am simply passing along your own words in terms of your reasons for resigning. I will only share positive remarks concerning our time working together."
In response, Hagler wrote that "I appreciate your sentiments and will always look fondly on my time with DFA/Lottery. All the best."
Their exchange surfaced in the finance department's response to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's request under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act for records, including texts and emails, between Hagler and top finance department officials since March 1.
Hardin said Friday in a written statement that "The text exchange was the morning of March 28. Secretary Hudson was informed of Eric's resignation and tried to call him on his work cell.
"When he didn't reach him, Secretary Hudson followed it up with a text to Eric's personal phone (the text exchange we provided)," he said in his written statement. "The text exchange represents DFA's contact with Eric following his resignation. We appreciate Eric's leadership at lottery and wish him all the best moving forward. We have not received any reason for the resignation."
Hagler could not be reached for comment by telephone Friday.
On March 28, Hagler wrote in an email to the lottery's employees, "It is time for me to move on to the next adventure. I will miss working with Team Lottery, but I am hopeful that you will stay in touch."
On March 22, Hagler said in an email to Hudson that the lottery was established with a lottery commission in 2009 and converted to a state agency in 2015, and the conversion from a commission to an agency "was done in a ham-fisted manner -- and was never really completed.
"Lottery still gets left out of DFA communications from time to time (although this has greatly improved since August '23) and we occasionally hear, 'we don't assist lottery -- you guys do your own stuff,'" he wrote in his email.
Hagler said he is looking forward to seeing how the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. "sees the situation." (McKinsey & Co. has an up to $5.5 million contract with state government to help the 15 executive branch agencies become more efficient and improve services).
In response, Hudson wrote "I'm sorry if your team is being left out of comms. Is it comms from my office or elsewhere? Definitely want to fix that!"
At 7:51 p.m. March 20, Hudson wrote in an email to Hagler that "Eric, I need a briefing on the launch of Jackpot.com
"Feel free to bring along anyone from your team," he said.
Jackpot.com, a lottery app and website, announced its launch in Arkansas in a news release issued by the company March 19.
At about 5:41 p.m. March 20, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette posted a story on its website about the Jackpot.com announcement about launching in Arkansas to allow customers to securely buy state lottery tickets and collect winnings directly from their phone, desktop or tablet.
Jackpot.com is the third retailer approved to sell tickets online in Arkansas and joined Jackpocket and Lotto.com, but the app-based ordering of hard copy lottery tickets is not considered to be an iLottery activity, according to the lottery.
In the newspaper's story posted online March 20, Hagler said in a written statement that "The economic uplift of iLottery is best fitted for implementation as a part of the next round of vendor contracts in 2026.
"This ensures that developmental and implementation costs for an omni-channel are spread across a term of years and subject to competitive bid process provided for in the state procurement system," he said.
"This timeframe also allows Lottery management to engage with all stakeholders, including our valued partners in the current brick-and-mortar channel whom we believe can actually benefit from an omni-channel environment," Hagler said in his written statement. "It is important that we get this right, and it must constitute a 'win' for all parties. This is especially true when you consider that we have booked record statistics in [fiscal year] 2021 (total revenue) and [fiscal year] 2023 (net proceeds)." Fiscal year 2024 started July 1, 2023, and ends June 30, 2024.
Hardin said Friday that Hagler briefed Hudson on Jackpot.com on March 21.
As to whether Hudson agreed with Hagler's statement regarding an iLottery, Hardin said in a written statement that "DFA and Lottery have remained on the same page, with no plans to implement an iLottery.
"Doing so would require significant input and engagement from all stakeholders, including the Governor and General Assembly," he said.
State Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, said Wednesday in a written statement that "I've never been a big fan of the lottery, but as long as we're going to have one, it should be one that is innovative, responsible, and forward-thinking in order to best serve the citizens who benefit from its scholarship monies.
"My impression of the lottery has been for some time that it would benefit from new leadership that better embodied all of those things," he said.
Asked whether the Department of Finance and Administration plans to hire a lottery executive director or a contractor to fill the post vacated by Hagler and when it plans to do so, Hardin said Friday that "DFA intends to fill the Director position in coordination with the Governor's Office. A timeline for this hire has not been established."
In September 2021, McNatt started work for the lottery.
In her resignation letter dated March 28, McNatt wrote that "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Lottery.
"The connections I've made and the work we've accomplished have been amazing," she wrote. "I have advanced professionally and enhanced my skills in ways I never expected during my two and a half years here. I feel honored to have been a part of a team that set record proceeds and sales and contributed to the advancement of education of students in the state of Arkansas.
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work in a field that was new to me and grow my skill-set along the way," McNatt said. "I wish the best for the future of the lottery."
As director of marketing and advertising, McNatt's salary was $111,041 a year, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.
In his resignation letter, Webb said "I want to thank you for the opportunity and experience I have gained over the last 12 years.
"The institution of the Arkansas lottery is a valued asset for the people and students of Arkansas," he wrote. "I am forever grateful to have been a part of it and to watch it grow. I wish the lottery many successes in the future."
As the lottery's director of security and compliance, Webb's salary was $90,796 a year, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.