The North Dakota legislature legalized electronic pulltabs in 2017. Now they’re available in all but three counties, causing tribal casinos in the state to lose money while charities benefit. Each of the state’s five tribal nations operate a casino.
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chairman Mark Fox said, “It’s no small thing for us. It’s of dire concern, at a minimum. It’s not just chump change that the Indians have. It makes a huge difference, not just to us, but to the economy of the state as well. We have to, as tribal nations, figure out what are we going to do. Our very livelihood, how we take care of our people, our jobs, are at a great threat.”
North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission Executive Director Scott Davis added electronic pulltabs provide consumers with a piece of the casino experience, leading to “casino-creep” throughout the state. “Casinos “are very delicate entities crucial to the survival of our tribes. Without them, things would be really tough, tougher than they are now,” Davis said.
Electronic pulltabs are available at Veterans of Foreign Wars, Eagles and Moose establishments, as well as bars, restaurants and gas stations, said Deb McDaniel, gaming director under the Office of Attorney General. At a Judiciary Committee hearing last year, McDaniel said as of October 31, 190 charitable gaming groups in 216 cities in all but three counties operated 2,168 pulltab games at 542 locations.
McDaniel said the gaming division has been under “tremendous strain” regulating pulltabs and preventing money laundering and other abuse. She asked for additional employees.
McDaniel said between 2015 and 2017, licensed gaming brought in $569 million, with $43.7 million going to charity and $6.8 million to the state general fund. From 2017 to 2019, legal gambling produced in $852 million, raising over $51 million for charity and $11 million for the state’s general fund. McDaniel predicted $1 billion in gross proceeds from 2020 to 2021.
Spirit Lake Tribe Gaming Commission Executive Director Collette Brown said Spirit Lake Casino Resort revenues fell 42 percent in one year. “Myself, my tribe, are gravely concerned with the electronic pull tab systems, e-tabs, in the state of North Dakota. She said the five tribal casinos have a combined employee payroll of about $80 million a year, and that money is spent in surrounding markets.
Former state Rep. Andy Maragos, one of the sponsors the 2017 pulltabs bill, said expanding charitable gaming in the state always was a goal because it helps charities. He noted the pulltabs measure originated because “charitable gaming was getting stagnant and needed a shot in the arm. To me, it’s just a good way to raise money for charity,” he said.
Maragos said he never intended the bill to impact the tribal casinos. Those venues “have a distinctive advantage of being able to give you a complete entertainment package,” he said.
