Insider: State Legislature May Shelve Popular E-Pulltabs

ST. PAUL -- If you enjoy playing electronic pull tabs at your local bar or restaurant your days may be numbered.

There is a proposal that has popped up at the state legislature to at least temporarily shelf the popular charitable gambling games.

E-pull tabs were introduced nine years ago as a way to help fund building U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Political insider Blois Olson says since then the games have evolved and have become much more sophisticated.

Now they maybe look more like gambling you would see in a casino and the state is worried about a lawsuit. The other thing is they've turned out more revenue than people anticipated and so the Vikings stadium doesn't need that revenue, so there is a move to temper those, go back to paper pull tabs full-time throughout the state.

Olson says charities, bars and restaurants are concerned about the idea of discontinuing the electronic games.

He says there are some in the state legislature that would like to intermix sports betting into any new proposals.

He says ending the games could be part of the final budget deal.