Are tip boards legal in Minnesota?

Yes, when a licensed organization runs them. Minnesota law lists tipboards as one of five forms of lawful gambling, with bingo, raffles, paddlewheels and pull-tabs, and it also allows sports-themed tipboards whose winning numbers come from the scores of professional games.

Is a tip board gambling?

Yes. You pay for a chance at a prize and chance picks the winner, so it is gambling. Where it's legal, it is regulated as charitable gaming, the same way pull tabs are.

Can a nonprofit use a tip board to raise money?

In a state that licenses tip boards, yes, under its charitable gaming license and that state's rules for buying, selling and reporting the game. Anywhere else, ask the state's charitable gaming office before selling a single spot. This is general information, not legal advice.

Are football squares boards at bars legal?

In most states a board that takes money for a chance at a prize is gambling, and it is legal only if state law says so. Minnesota's sports-themed tipboards are the licensed version: printed boards sold by a licensed organization, with the winner set by the final score.

The short answer

Are tip boards legal?

Only where a state licenses them. A tip board is a game of chance, so it is legal when a state's gaming law covers it and a licensed group runs it; everywhere else it counts as an illegal gambling device. Minnesota, North Dakota and Indiana allow them. Montana bans them by name.

Checked against each state's statute or regulator, October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

What a tip board is

A tip board is a cardboard placard with a sealed window that hides the winning number, sold with a stack of tickets or a grid of numbered spots that players sign. When the board sells out, the seal comes off and the matching ticket or spot wins. Minnesota's law describes it as a board, placard or other device with a seal that conceals the winning number or symbol and serves as the game's flare. Sports versions, the bar's football board, set the winning spot by a game's final score instead of a seal. For how the games play, see pull tabs vs tipboards.

Where tip boards are legal

Minnesota. Tipboards are one of five forms of lawful gambling, with bingo, raffles, paddlewheels and pull-tabs, run by licensed organizations. Minnesota also allows sports-themed tipboards whose winning numbers come from the scores of professional games. More in Minnesota pull-tab law.
North Dakota. The Attorney General's gaming forms cover tip boards alongside seal boards, club specials and punchboards, sold by licensed organizations at permitted sites. More in North Dakota pull-tab law.
Indiana. Taverns with a Type II gaming endorsement can sell tip boards, punchboards and pull tabs, using games approved by the Indiana Gaming Commission. More in Indiana pull-tab law.

Other states license close relatives under other names. Ohio, for example, runs seal cards, tickets sold with a board whose seals reveal the winning numbers, as a form of instant bingo. If your state isn't listed here, its own charitable gaming law decides.

Where they are illegal

Montana names the tip board in its list of illegal gambling devices, together with pull tabs, punchboards and jar games. And in any state with no charitable gaming program that covers them, a tip board falls under the general ban on gambling. The pull-tab laws by state show which states have a program at all.

Running one for a fundraiser

Where tip boards are legal, they are not a do-it-yourself game. In Minnesota and North Dakota a licensed organization runs them under its gambling license, and Indiana requires a Type II endorsement and approved games. Each state also sets rules for record keeping and reporting. In any other state, check with the charitable gaming office before you sell a single spot.

Tip boards and pull tabs travel together

In Minnesota and North Dakota, tip boards often hang near the pull-tab booth, sold by the same licensed charity. Pull Tab Finder maps those bars and posts.

Sources

Tip board FAQ

Are tip boards legal?: Only in states that license them, and only when the right licensee runs them. Minnesota and North Dakota license tip boards as charitable gaming, and Indiana lets taverns with a Type II gaming endorsement sell them. In a state with no program that covers them, a tip board is an illegal gambling device.
Are tip boards legal in Minnesota?: Yes, when a licensed organization runs them. Minnesota law lists tipboards as one of five forms of lawful gambling, with bingo, raffles, paddlewheels and pull-tabs, and it also allows sports-themed tipboards whose winning numbers come from the scores of professional games.
Is a tip board gambling?: Yes. You pay for a chance at a prize and chance picks the winner, so it is gambling. Where it's legal, it is regulated as charitable gaming, the same way pull tabs are.
Can a nonprofit use a tip board to raise money?: In a state that licenses tip boards, yes, under its charitable gaming license and that state's rules for buying, selling and reporting the game. Anywhere else, ask the state's charitable gaming office before selling a single spot. This is general information, not legal advice.
Are football squares boards at bars legal?: In most states a board that takes money for a chance at a prize is gambling, and it is legal only if state law says so. Minnesota's sports-themed tipboards are the licensed version: printed boards sold by a licensed organization, with the winner set by the final score.

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