The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that the so-called “open-all” feature on electronic pulltabs is illegal, siding with the state’s gaming tribes in holding that the feature, which eliminates the need to open each pulltab line individually, makes the games similar to slot machines, which are reserved exclusively for the Indian tribes under state law.
Minnesota legalized electronic pulltabs in 2012 to partially fund the construction of the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Normally in pulltabs, a player is required to activate or open each electronic pulltab ticket and each individual line row or column individually. The state’s legislation allowed for one button to activate cascading rows open to animated characters and potentially triggering bonus rounds.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community challenged the open-all feature in 2019, arguing that the function makes pulltabs essentially slot machines. An administrative law judge upheld the function as legal. Last week’s decision reversed that ruling, and the appellate panel called for an amendment to the gaming law.
“We call on the Gambling Control Board and the Minnesota Legislature to take this opportunity to resolve this problem and others related to the regulation of electronic pulltabs for good,” said a statement from the court.
