A settlement reached between North Dakota Attorney General (AG) Drew Wrigley and a trio of gambling equipment distributors will not be thrown out after the main company retracted a communication that violated the terms of the agreement.
In April, the AG’s office accused Western Distributing and two associated companies, Plains Gaming Distributing Inc. and Midwest Gaming Distributing Inc., of violating state gambling laws by attempting to influence bars’ charitable gambling operations through a nonprofit veterans’ organization.
According to the Bismarck Tribune, Wrigley said the Wall of Honor nonprofit was used as an “enticement” to get bars to use electronic pull-tab machines, which were provided exclusively by the three companies. The companies also allegedly pressured bar owners to switch their charitable allegiances.
The violations “significantly impacted charitable gaming organizations in North Dakota by creating an unfair advantage” for the participating companies, Wrigley said in a complaint.
He added, “This conduct has resulted in millions of dollars in charitable gaming being diverted to charitable organizations aligned with Western, Plains, and/or Midwest as a distributor.”
Wrigley planned to revoke the companies’ distributor licenses and also fine them $120,000 for the transgression. He tacked on another $5,000 in fines for Western for allegedly loaning startup money to an American Legion post.
With payment of the fines, acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the companies, and the removal of Dave Wisdom, president of both Western Distributing and Plains Gaming, Wrigley agreed to let the licenses remain in effect. Wisdom’s immediate family members also were required to resign and have no further involvement in the business.
While those requirements were met, emails to customers characterized Wisdom’s removal as a personal choice to retire, and activities related to the Wall of Honor charity as the result of confusion.
“It was not a bit of confusion, and they’ve acknowledged that in the settlement,” Wrigley told the AP.
In the retraction email, Western stated, “We are grateful to have this matter behind us. We look forward to serving our valued customers while fully complying with the law.”
According to its website, the Wall of Honor “salutes North Dakotan heroes on more than 100 digital displays across the state. … Wall of Honor displays can be found in restaurants, veteran’s service and fraternal organizations, c-stores, banks, credit unions, hotel lobbies, schools, airports, casinos and taverns.” The AG’s complaint did not accuse Wall of Honor of wrongdoing.
According to the AP, North Dakota lawmakers and state regulators have wrestled with the expansion of electronic pull-tab machines, which generated almost $1.6 billion in revenues in fiscal 2022.
Lawmakers have finalized a proposal that would limit the number of machines, where they can be located, how many machines a charitable organization can offer and how many terminals can be installed at each site. The bill also would increase rent for the machines, the Tribune reported.
Electronic pull-tab machines, first introduced in the state in 2018, now number 4,500 at 800 sites.
