Lottery not a winner.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE $3 million Arkansas State Lottery? The winner gets $3 a year for a million years.

That's an old joke, but it's no joke that a lottery in Arkansas is back in the news.

First it was lieutenant governor candidate Drew Pritt, who had proposed a constitutional amendment to establish a state lottery. The ballot title of that proposal, however; was rejected by Attorney General Mike Beebe, who said it was unclear on how lottery commission members would be appointed. It could still happen.

Talk picked up after Democratic primary candidate Bill Halter finally entered the race and made a state lottery part of his platform.

It's quite possible that a lottery alone, without any other form of gambling attached, just might get the approval of Arkansas voters.

While Halter said he thought a lottery could generate as much as $250 million for education in the state, we doubt that--and so does just about everyone else.

Halter says that was at the high end of estimates and that regardless of how much might come in, it would be a new revenue stream for education that's not there now.

Every state bordering Arkansas now has a lottery--except Mississippi, which has casino gambling--and certainly many Arkansans are taking their chances in those states.

While we agree with Halter that it's hard to watch that money flow out of state, we're still not convinced that a lottery is a good thing. We simply don't think government should be in the business of promoting gambling, urging residents to try their luck. And this is especially true in a state like Arkansas, where households earning $15,000 a year or less are more common than households earning $75,000 or more.

As a business publication that supports the growth of business in the state, we would prefer opening the state to casinos--legitimate (for the most part) businesses simply out to take your bucks. Recent amendment attempts to legalize casino gambling, however; were absurdly drawn to benefit just a few places and even fewer individuals, and none was worthy to be part of our state constitution.

If Arkansans truly want gambling and think that is the answer to Arkansas' problems, let businesses take a risk along with the suckers at the slot machines. But it only takes a look at our neighbor to the east to know that casinos haven't been the answer to all the economic problems in that state. Mississippi still ranks below Arkansas in most measurable categories.

Anyone in business should think long and hard about a lottery. Money raised in a lottery has to come from somewhere. If people are buying lottery tickets, that means they'll have less to spend on other goods and services. And that also translates into a reduction of state and local tax revenue that is generated from the sale of those goods and services.

Several other things about a lottery ought to be considered:

* It wouldn't come close to solving the state's educational funding needs. Probably the best guess on how much might actually come into the state's coffers is about $60 million, which comes from a Department of Finance & Administration study. Even that might be high. Still, some would use a lottery to justify opposition to any other needed increases in support of schools.

* Virtually every penny flowing into the lottery will be coming out of Arkansans' pockets. Arkansans who used to drive to neighboring states would be likely to stay home, but residents of those states aren't likely to come here to lose money.

* It's certainly not a stable or predictable revenue stream for education. At least half of the states with lotteries have posted revenue declines in recent years.