In Connecticut, pull tabs go by the official name "sealed tickets," and they are a long-standing legal form of charitable gaming. They are treated separately from the state lottery, tribal casino games, and commercial slots. A nonprofit group can offer them only after obtaining the proper permit from the state, and all proceeds must go toward the organization's charitable or nonprofit purposes. The framework is set out in the Connecticut General Statutes and administered by the Department of Consumer Protection.
Who can run pull tabs in Connecticut
Sealed tickets are limited to qualifying nonprofit groups. Under state law, religious, civic or service, fraternal, veterans', educational, and charitable organizations, along with officially recognized volunteer fire companies, may apply to the Department of Consumer Protection for a permit to sell them as a fundraiser. Everyday for-profit businesses cannot run pull tabs on their own account.
The Commissioner of Consumer Protection is the permit-issuing authority. Organizations apply for an organizational permit, and the volunteers who actually sell the tickets obtain individual sales permits. Applicants who are 16 or 17 may assist with a letter of permission from a parent or legal guardian, but that rule is about who may sell, not who may play.
How they work and where you find them
A sealed ticket, commonly known as a pull tab or break-open, is a paper card with perforated tabs. When you pull the tabs open, you reveal symbols or numbers, and a matching winning combination pays a set prize. Because they are tied to nonprofit fundraising, you will not see them sold at a random convenience store the way lottery scratch tickets are.
State law limits where sealed tickets may be sold, offered, or displayed. They may be offered during a bingo game, on the permitted organization's own premises, during a bazaar, or in connection with a social function or event sponsored by the organization. Permitted groups may use a mechanical or electronic ticket dispensing machine that the department has approved to sell the paper tickets.
Notable rules and recent changes
The minimum age to buy a sealed ticket is 18. State law provides that sealed tickets shall not be sold to any person under 18 years of age.
For many years the state itself was the sole source of Connecticut sealed ticket games. That changed in 2012, when the Gaming Division began phasing out its own ticket sales and started registering private manufacturers and distributors. Today registered manufacturers may sell only to registered Connecticut distributors, and those distributors may sell only to organizations that hold a valid permit. Connecticut authorizes approved dispensing machines for paper tickets, but it does not offer the tablet-style electronic pull-tab games seen in some other states.
Where can I play pull tabs in Connecticut?
Pull tabs, called sealed tickets, turn up at permitted nonprofit venues and events such as VFW and American Legion posts, fraternal clubs and lodges, volunteer fire companies, and church or civic bingo nights and bazaars.
Find a spot179 places to play pull tabs in Connecticut