A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Arkansas Lottery Commission Wants Lawsuit Dismissed

The Arkansas Lottery Commission says the state Supreme Court should dismiss a lawsuit about the lottery's name.

Assistant Attorney General David Curran on Thursday asked the justices to dismiss Alpha Marketing's lawsuit after a lower court last year refused to do so.

The Lottery Commission has said it should be immune from the lawsuit, but a judge in Pulaski County ruled in 2012 that the lawsuit could not be barred under the sovereign immunity doctrine, which prohibits lawsuits against the state.

Alpha Marketing says it has owned the trademarks for the terms, "Arkansas Lottery," "Arkansas Lotto" and "Lottery Arkansas" for more than 18 years.

Arkansas' lottery began in 2009, the year after voters approved creating the games to fund college scholarships.

The company sued in 2010.