Charitable gambling via electronic pulltabs in Minnesota has been a disappointment since the state legislature approved the iPad-based games to help pay for the state’s share of a new Vikings stadium. Now Express Games, the largest company distributing electronic pulltab games to 120 bars and other venues in the state, recently announced it will cease operations. Charities benefiting from the games have been notified and urged to sign up with Express Games founder Jon Weaver’s new company, Pilot Games. Sources said a lack of interest plus a lawsuit between Express Games and competitor Acres 4.0 are to blame for the change.
Meanwhile, paper pull-tabs and bingo continue to generate millions for charities, host businesses and the state. In 2013, paper pull-tabs brought in more than $1 billion in sales, followed by bingo with more than $64 million in sales. After subtracting prize money, charitable gambling delivers more than $200 million for Minnesota’s nonprofits, making the state number one in the nation for charitable gambling.
Still, Weaver said Pilot Games has developed “the next generation of electronics” and will develop new marketing tools to boost electronic pull-tab revenues.
