North Dakota charities and the state treasury experienced a significant financial benefit as residents spent more than $410.5 million on electronic pulltabs in the games’ first nine months. Launched in August 2018, now nearly 2,000 are in operation in 80 percent of cities and towns, according to Associated Press data.
North Dakota Charitable Gaming Association Director Janelle Mitzel estimated thanks to electronic pulltabs, charities will receive a funding increase of 50 percent to $69 million in the state’s current 2-year budget cycle. She stated, “These machines are doing fantastic. They have been wonderful for charities.” Mitzel calls the games a “modern method of delivery of pulltabs.”
So-called ePulltabs also are associated with a 36 percent rise in state gambling tax revenue to $9.1 million compared to the previous 2-year budget cycle, according to state figures.
Still, the games are raising concerns about an increase in problem gambling. The state contracts with Lutheran Social Services to offer gambling therapy and outreach. Lisa Vig, a counselor for the agency’s Gambler’s Choice treatment program, said about a dozen people sought help in January and February for ePulltab issues—60 percent of the program’s clients. Vig and state Senator Dwight Cook, chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee, have asked the legislature to direct a portion of revenue from ePulltabs and other charitable gambling to problem gambling treatment programs. Cook said, “You can put lipstick on them all you want. These are slot machines that never should have showed up in the state without a vote of the people.”
The pulltabs also are affecting some of North Dakota’s five American Indian reservations. Spirit Lake Indian Tribe Gaming Commission Executive Director Collette Brown said the tribal casino’s revenue has declined by 40 percent due to pulltabs. “It’s a big hit for us. We’re feeling it. There is no reason to go to the casino now,” she said. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith added revenue has dropped at the tribe’s casino. “It’s having a negative impact and if the state continues to allow it, it will have an even bigger impact in the future,” he said.
