E-tabs

[Elvisa Schimke]

GamblingIt's a lot of people's "get rich quick" plan. Every time you play the lottery, it's like you are buying hope. And then when you lose (most likely) it's a let down... but didn't you alread kind of expect that outcome?

But this situation is a little bit different. E-Tabs. They have gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. I have heard of people winning some huge jackpots around the state. Not big like the Powerball jackpot, but a significant amount of money

Pull Tabs are legal in Minnesota. It's charitable gambling, and that is absolutely ok. Slot machines and tables are not legal in Minnesota as a whole - they are only allowed on the reservations. So, that's generally what people do - head to one of the tribal casinos.

E-Tabs spin like a slot machine and they also dole out bonuses like a slot machine. Apparently that violates the state gambling laws. It's really a fine line, because let's face it, e-tabs have helped pay for some large items in the state. For instance, that is how US Bank Stadium paid off their loan so quickly.

What the likely change will be sounds like it will be much more like a regular pull-tab. Only computerized. The computer will "rip" a tab open just like you would rip open an actual paper pull-tab. Exciting, right? (enter sarcasm).

So, if you love these e-tab machines the way they are now, play as much as you want for this year... then the change happens. And as they say in the Hunger Games - "May the odds be ever in your favor".

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The House Tax Committee heard comments on the proposals April 19 and, despite objections from The American Legion, Allied Charities of Minnesota, Protect Our Charities and others, went ahead and approved the amendment on April 20 anyway. The measure presently exists as part of the House Omnibus Tax Bill.

E-pulltabs have been around since 2012 and helped pay off bonds that built a pro football stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Casinos have been behind efforts to scale back e-tabs. Courts have twice ruled that the 2012 agreement with the Dayton administration regarding e-tabs has not been violated.

Gomez regularly tells the media a recent court ruling is why state lawmakers need to change the law. However, she fails to grasp or conveniently omits that ruling only dealt with email explanations from the Gambling Control Board. The actual 2012 agreement has been supported by the courts.\

Two years ago, the House actually passed a bill to get rid of e-tabs. It was killed by the Senate. A state fiscal note said charities would lose $33 million a year, wages would be reduced by $35 million and bars and restaurants would lose $30 million. It was widely agreed upon, at the time, that nobody would up and suddenly leave their favorite bar or restaurant and go to casinos instead.

Charitable gambling has been part of the Minnesota landscape since 1945, with the bingo law, with the notion of preventing commercial gambling. Now, it would seem commercial gambling is out to harm charitable gambling.

Denise Miller watches as she wins $15 while playing an electronic pull tab machine at the Sports Page bar in Bismarck, N.D., on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. The Vegas-style machines have boomed in North Dakota since 2018, creating questions about where they can be located and what entities can conduct charitable gambling. The flashy devices number 4,700 statewide. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

The flashy devices have raised key questions about where they can be located, such as gas stations and convenience stores, and what organizations can conduct the gambling. E-tabs function like slot machines. They appeared in 2018 after approval by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The bill mandating the study also redefined that term, specifically excluding gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores and liquor stores, but grandfathered the four gas stations and c-stores with e-tabs.

A recent ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals found that the Minnesota Gaming Control Board improperly allowed the feature. A provision in the House Omnibus Tax Bill would make e-tabs look more like regular pull-tabs.

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