Since January, sales of electronic pulltabs and bingo have increased nearly 50 percent in Minnesota. Officials said the rise in sales is due to bigger payouts, better technology and fresher games. The legislature approved the games in 2012 to help pay the state’s share of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
When electronic pulltabs and bingo were approved, officials projected 15,000 devices would be available in Minnesota’s 2,500 bars, with every machine taking in more than $200 in bets daily. Today, about 700 devices are operating in less than one out of 10 bars. However, in March demand for the games approached the state’s early projections, with the games averaging $200 in bets per day. Tom Barret, executive director of the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, said players now are starting to accept and understand the electronic version of paper pulltabs and the industry is “getting in tune with what the customers are looking for, educating the customers.” Better, less expensive technology is one reason, along with major prizes including a bingo win of $71,000 at an Eveleth bar.
In addition, Jon Weaver, founder of Pilot Games, supplier of pulltabs and bingo games to charitable gambling operations, noted, “Processor capacity for the game clients has increased, which has allowed us to do more 3D graphics and do more with the amount of memory and processing capability that we have. The type of graphics and what you see in our games is kind of a result of the advances of tablet technology over the last three years.”
Weaver said betting has risen from $1 million last July to $4.5 million in May. “The players aren’t getting tired of our product, and the pie is growing,” he said.
Charitable gambling manager Rocky Johnstone added, “Every one of our sites has grown.” He stated installing the games is easier now and the games are more reliable.
