Arkansas has always been one of the few states without a lottery, especially in the South. Every time it has come up in legislation it has been shot down by Arkansas voters. But it will soon be coming up again by Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter.

Recently Michael Nelson spoke in an open forum to discuss what the outcome of having a lottery voted in would mean and why it has been voted down in the past. Michael is a college professor and author of "How the South Joined the Gambling Nation"

Nelson says. "Arkansas is the one state in the south that never has had a straight vote on a lottery. It's been mixed in with other things, and that's one of the reasons why it's never passed." He also added, "There is no question that, based on the experience of the other states that have lotteries, that if you have a lottery in Arkansas, most of the tickets that are bought will be lost by the poor and working class people." Due to the Arkansas economy, this could very well be true.

One of the advantages Nelson pointed out was, "One of the advantages a state has when it creates a lottery with the revenues designated for college scholarships is that more of your high school graduates will stay in Arkansas for college and beyond college. I don't know if that outweighs the negatives, but it's certainly a plus."

Maybe in the next election Arkansas voters will have a different point of view for their state.

- 2007-11-07