Impact of Court Ruling on Electronic Pull Tabs in Minnesota
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The last decade has seen electronic pull tabs in Minnesota become hugely popular. The games, which are similar to scratch cards in concept, were first allowed in the state in 2012 as a way of funding the building of the Minnesota Vikings’ stadium, which cost more than $1 billion.
After the stadium had been paid for, the games continued to raise significant tax revenue for Minnesota and help raise money for charities. It seemed that this would continue indefinitely until Tribal casino operators challenged the games in court claiming that they were similar to slots.
A lawsuit brought by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community claims that the games are in breach of the Tribe’s agreement with the state. At first, it was ruled that this wasn’t the case but recently, the Court of Appeals in Minnesota sided with the tribes.
The case means that there will be new restrictions on electronic pull tabs and charities are worried that they will not receive the same amount of funding. For example, Kelli Bohm, the Mankato Area Hockey Association’s president, was very critical of the coming changes.
It’s pretty sad news for us because a lot of revenue comes through electronic pull tabs.” According to Bohm, attempting to raise more money for charities via paper pull tabs isn’t a viable option. She explained that this is because expanding the paper pull tabs operation would require additional employees. At the same time, Bohm pointed out that the process itself is much more time-consuming and complex than giving a customer an electronic device
The changes will mainly affect the games’ “open-all” features. They are often designed with engaging options such as sound effects, animations, and bonus rounds. The Tribe argued that these features make the games similar to slots. As such, the state has introduced a bill that will ban these features by the end of 2024.
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