How we got here
The history of pull tabs
The pull tab is one of those small American inventions that quietly became a fixture: a paper ticket you tear open at the bar, sold to raise money for a local cause. Its look has changed and it has jumped onto tablets, but the idea underneath has stayed the same for decades.
Born from charitable gaming
Pull tabs grew up in the world of charitable gaming, the same world as church bingo and the club raffle. As states legalized ways for nonprofits to raise money through games of chance, the pull tab became a favorite: cheap to produce, simple to sell, and easy to run without a dealer or a spinning wheel. A licensed group could set out a box of tickets and let the deal do the work.
That is why the game took root in veterans' posts, fraternal clubs, and neighborhood bars rather than casinos. The VFW, the American Legion, the Elks and Moose lodges, and countless local causes leaned on pull tabs as a dependable trickle of fundraising, a role they still play today.
The paper era and a pile of nicknames
Through the second half of the twentieth century, paper pull tabs spread across the country, and different regions gave them different names. You will still hear them called Nevada tickets, break-open tickets, or, in Nebraska, pickle cards. Same little multi-ply ticket, same tear-it-open reveal. If the names trip you up, we sort them out in what are Nevada tickets.
One idea, unchanged
From the very first paper deals to today, the core has never moved: every ticket in a batch is a winner or loser decided at the printer, and you are drawing from a fixed, finite pile. That is what makes a pull tab a pull tab. The full mechanics are in how pull tabs work.
The electronic era
The biggest change came in the 2010s, when the game moved onto screens. Minnesota authorized electronic pull tabs in 2012, in part to help fund a new professional football stadium, and other states followed. An electronic pull tab looks like a small slot game on a tablet, but under the flashy reveal it is still drawing from a predetermined, finite deal. The package changed; the math did not.
Pull tabs today
Today pull tabs remain one of the biggest charitable-gaming categories in the country, quietly funding local causes one dollar at a time. The newest chapter is not about the tickets at all, but about finding them: instead of relying on word of mouth about which bar has a good deal, players now use community-built maps. That is exactly why Pull Tab Finder exists, so the next spot is never more than a tap away.
Want the practical side? See where to buy pull tabs or browse pull tabs by state.
History of pull tabs FAQ
- When were pull tabs invented?
- The modern paper pull tab became widespread in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century, growing alongside legalized charitable gaming. Precise origins are murky, but by the 1980s and 1990s pull tabs were a common bar-top fixture wherever charities were licensed to run them.
- Why are pull tabs tied to charities?
- Pull tabs are regulated as charitable gaming in most states, meaning licensed nonprofits run them to raise money. Veterans' posts, fraternal clubs, and community groups adopted them as a simple, steady fundraiser, which is why they turn up in those venues rather than at retail counters.
- When did electronic pull tabs appear?
- Electronic pull tabs arrived in the 2010s. Minnesota authorized them in 2012, in part to help fund a new professional football stadium, and other states followed. The tablet version keeps the same predetermined-deal math as paper, just on a screen.
- Are pull tabs still popular today?
- Yes. Pull tabs remain a major charitable-gaming category across many states, funding local causes every year. The main change is how players find them: community-built apps now map licensed spots instead of relying on word of mouth.