Everything we found in Arkansas
Arkansas is one of the few states whose lottery names courier apps on its own site. Every fact below comes from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery’s FAQ, claim page and claim form, or the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act as the lottery publishes it; each fact shows its source and the day we checked it. Pools can be created in every state that runs a lottery; Arkansas is open.
Is a private pool legal here?
We found no Arkansas statute that prohibits a group of people from putting money together to buy tickets and share a prize. The lottery’s claim form has a claimant-type line with two boxes, “INDIVIDUAL” and “GROUP,” so a pool can claim as a group. How the claim center handles it: The pool agreement names who claims. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery takes multi-winner claims at its Little Rock claim center, with at most two people per claim unless an appointment is made. (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery claim page, checked Oct 8, 2026)
One line in the Act matters for a pool agreement. Arkansas Code 23-115-403(c)(1)(B): “A lottery prize, any portion of a lottery prize, or any right of any individual to a lottery prize is not assignable.” A pool should decide its shares before the ticket is bought, not trade them afterward.
ShareTheWinning is free, takes no cut of tickets or prizes and never holds money. Whether a particular arrangement is lawful is a question for counsel, not for us.
Minimum age
18 or older (Lottery game page, checked Oct 1, 2026). The Act (23-115-402(e)(1)) bars selling or giving a ticket to anyone younger. Members confirm their age when they join a pool.
Where tickets are sold
Licensed retailers only, with couriers acknowledged. The FAQ: “Lottery tickets can only be purchased from licensed lottery retailers.” The lottery’s own app does not sell tickets; it builds a QR code that “players will take… to a retailer and scan… to purchase their ticket.” The lottery’s where-to-play page adds: “Get your lottery tickets on the go with Jackpocket, Jackpot.com or LOTTO.com.” Those are third-party courier services, not the lottery itself.
How many drawings one ticket can cover, per the lottery’s game pages:
- Powerball: Up to 20 drawings per ticket (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Powerball page, checked Oct 5, 2026); mark MULTI DRAWS on the playslip.
- Mega Millions: Up to 20 drawings per ticket (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Mega Millions page, checked Oct 5, 2026); mark the MULTI DRAW box.
Group purchase limits: None found in the rules we read (not yet verified). We also found none in the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act as the lottery publishes it.
Powerball’s Double Play add-on: not offered in Arkansas; powerball.com’s Double Play page does not list it.
Claim deadlines
180 days after the drawing (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026) for Powerball and Mega Millions. The Act (23-115-403) sets the same window.
Where to claim depends on the prize, per the claim page:
- Up to $500: any Arkansas Scholarship Lottery retailer.
- Over $500: the Claim Center in Little Rock or by mail to P.O. Box 3838, Little Rock, AR 72203.
- $1 million and up: in person at the Claim Center, by appointment. “Winners are required to contact the Claim Center in advance to make an appointment.”
Can winners stay anonymous?
Only for prizes over $500,000, and only for a time: on request the winner's records stay confidential for three years. Smaller prizes are open to disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information Act. (Arkansas Code 23-115-404, checked Oct 8, 2026) The same section gives elected officials and their close relatives a much shorter confidential period. The claim form also gives the lottery the right to use a winner’s name, photograph and likeness in press releases and advertising.
Taxes
- State withholding: 3.7% on prizes over $5,000 (State withholding table, checked Oct 1, 2026). The claim page states it as a State of Arkansas requirement.
- Federal: The lottery withholds 24% federal tax when a prize minus the wager is more than $5,000. A prize of $2,000 or more is reported to the IRS on Form W-2G. (IRS Form W-2G instructions, checked Oct 1, 2026) The final federal bill is settled on your return.
- Local: the claim page lists only federal and state withholding.
Group pools split the paperwork with IRS Form 5754 so each member receives their own W-2G. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery does not publish whether it accepts Form 5754 from a group; ask the lottery directly through its contact page. See How a pool claims a prize. The split calculator applies the Arkansas rate.
Claim office
- Little Rock Claim Center: 124 W. Capitol Avenue, 1st Floor, Union Plaza Building, Little Rock, AR 72201. Phone 501-683-2060. The claim page says Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with no claims after 4:45 p.m.; the claim form says 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and asks you to arrive by 4:15 p.m. Arrive early.
- Mail: Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center, P.O. Box 3838, Little Rock, AR 72203.
- General phone: 501-683-2000.
Official site: myarkansaslottery.com.
How our pool record helps in Arkansas
The few people who go to the claim center for a group need a record everyone else trusts. In a ShareTheWinning pool the members, shares and confirmed payments lock before the ticket is bought; the ticket is photographed and recorded before the drawing; and every change afterward is a new entry, never an edit. Because Arkansas prizes cannot be assigned, that early lock matters: the shares on record are the shares. When a prize reaches the Arkansas threshold ($600 by default), the round goes on hold and we preserve an export bundle for the claim center, the accountant and, if it ever comes to it, a court.
For the first 48 hours after a win, read You won. The first five things to do. The “If we win” stop on the Journey shows the deadline and the privacy rule for Arkansas next to your numbers.
