Arkansas Lottery Poses Dilemma for Colleges

The recent introduction of the Arkansas lottery was good news for most citizens of the state. Lottery tickets went on sale September 28th at over 1550 locations throughout the state. The lottery has not been without controversy. Harding University, a Christian college in Arkansas made a decision to allow its students to purchase lottery tickets and play the newly introduced Arkansas lottery. Despite a student ban on gambling at the college affiliated with the Church of Christ the university made an exemption for the lottery.

The exemption was originally made because revenues generated by the Arkansas lottery go towards funding college scholarships. The scholarships are available for students at both public and private colleges including Harding University. David Crouch, the university's public relations director cited the funding of scholarships as the main reason for the lottery exemption. Students at Harding are forbidden to gamble. Crouch stated, "We are opposed to gambling. It is part of our code of conduct,"

In October Harding reversed course and banned students from playing the Arkansas lottery. Harding University President David Burks said that the University would include the Arkansas lottery in its student gambling ban. Burks said that the exemption was a mistake. Burks stated, "My intention was to express in our policy the reality that it will be very difficult to enforce any prohibition against the lottery. In an attempt to avoid one appearance of hypocrisy, I made a decision that has itself come to be viewed as hypocritical." Burks said that students caught playing the Arkansas lottery would face a written or verbal warning. Burks said, "It is important to me that all people, both here and away from campus, know that Harding University stands firmly against gambling."

The Arkansas lottery has posed a dilemma for other private colleges. Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia has banned students from playing the lottery. Arkansas State University, the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas ban students from gambling on campus but said that the gambling ban would apply to the purchase of lottery tickets on campus.

While a few states are still arguing about the morality of state lotteries others are joining the 21st century and now allow the purchase of online lottery tickets. Players no longer have to trek to the nearest lottery retailer to purchase lottery tickets. In addition players can check for winning numbers. States with large budget deficits hope the availability of online lottery tickets will boost lottery generated revenues and fill state coffers. Purchasing online lottery tickets has been very popular in Europe and states are hoping for similar results in the US.