The electronic pull-tab option for Vikings stadium

Posted at 7:03 AM on November 2, 2011 by Jon Gordon
Filed under: Politics, Sport

From MPR News reporter Tim Nelson:

A virtual reboot of one of Minnesota's best-known gambling traditions is getting renewed interest as a funding source for a Vikings stadium.

Backers say electronic pull-tabs could also help boost the hospitality industry and revive charitable gaming. But opponents say it's a dangerous experiment in making gambling easy...

Lately, pull-tabs have fallen on hard times. They've been subject to major tax changes. They're quaint, even antiquated, in a world of smartphones and iPads. Gross receipts have dropped by a third since their peak in 2000 at $1.5 billion.

Charitable gambling operators like VFWs and hockey booster clubs think they can regain that ground with a digital upgrade -- putting pull tabs on laptop-sized, wireless touch screens patrons can play at a table or at a bar.