I still think most people in Arkansas will vote for a lottery whose profits are devoted to college scholarships. I still am not wild about the idea. But it’s not an unalloyed plus for a politician pushing it, as evidenced by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s reception when he talked about the proposal to the Municipal League convention yesterday.
Will the Arkansas lottery have $50 scratch-off cards as other states now have? Will it offer dozens of keno-style lotteries per day? Will ubiquitous electronic terminals, with play and reward action not terribly unlike slot machines, be part of the gambling landscape? Will it require ever-increasing marketing outlays to encourage people to dig deeper in their wallets to gamble to keep revenues flowing at desired levels? We won’t know until after the amendment is approved and the legislature establishes an apparatus to run the game.