Lawmakers in North Dakota Ponder Potential Destiny of Pull-Tab Gaming Machines
State gambling regulators in North Dakota are waiting for legislative clarification on the future of electronic pull-tab machines in the region. Two contrasting bills – Senate Bill 2304 and House Bill 1484 – are making their way through the state legislature to decide where these gambling devices are permitted.
In 2022, North Dakota residents invested approximately $1.75 billion into pull-tab machines, according to the North Dakota Gaming Commission, with roughly 4,400 terminals active at over 800 locations across the state.
North Dakota’s 1994 charitable gaming act allows gaming devices to function in any "retail alcoholic beverage establishment where alcoholic beverages are dispensed and consumed." However, many business owners have taken this definition to mean that any establishment licensed to sell liquor, such as convenience stores, can house these machines.
A rising group of citizens and lawmakers are against the machines being situated outside of traditional bars, arguing that this increases the occurrence of gambling addiction and reduces the earnings of Native American tribes with casinos.
Revising the Criteria
Last May, the Gaming Commission voted 3-2 to redefine the location where such charitable gaming can be conducted in the state. The regulator declared that only businesses primarily relying on alcohol sales through on-site consumption can host the machines.Senate Bill 2304 — sponsored by Sen. Jerry Klein (R-Fessenden) — incorporates the Gaming Commission's terminology, allowing gaming in bars, hotels, bowling alleys, and restaurants but prohibiting it in gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores.
On February 21, 2023, North Dakota’s Senate passed SB 2304 in a 35-12 vote, sending it to the House.
Let Local Authorities Take the Lead
According to House Bill 1484 — presented by Rep. Nathan Toman (R-Mandan) and backed by the North Dakota Gaming Alliance — any establishment licensed to serve alcohol can host on-site gaming. City and county boards would have the exclusive authority to approve sites on a case-by-case basis, taking approval power away from the attorney general’s hands.
On February 16, 2023, the House passed this bill 66-27. It’s now in the North Dakota Senate’s hands.
The subsequent hearings on the two bills have not been scheduled yet.
