Pull tabs are legal in the District of Columbia, but only through a narrow, licensed charitable channel. DC regulations expressly permit "the tab lottery game known as charity game or Nevada chips" during licensed bingo and raffle operations, and they authorize the DC Lottery to run its own pull-tab lottery games. What you will not find is a bar, tavern, or general-retail pull-tab scene. The activity is tied to nonprofit bingo and raffle events overseen by the Office of Lottery and Gaming.
Charitable pull tabs: charity game tickets and Nevada chips
DC Municipal Regulations Section 30-1409.1 states that "the tab lottery game known as charity game or Nevada chips shall be permitted during all Class A, Class B, and Class C bingo and raffle operations." Charity game tickets and Nevada chips are pull tabs, so licensed DC nonprofits can legally sell them at their bingo and raffle events.
Organizations must buy the tickets from the Office of Lottery and Gaming, or from a licensed supplier if the Board does not have them in stock. Unsold tickets are returned to the Board for destruction at the end of the event. Only nonprofits that meet DC's charitable-gaming license requirements, such as being incorporated in DC and in existence at least a year, may run them.
The DC Lottery's pull-tab authorization
DCMR Section 30-704 authorizes the DC Lottery (the Agency) to operate a pull-tab lottery game, with tickets described as bearer instruments priced at fifty cents or another approved price. This is a separate track from the charitable charity game tickets.
In practice, the DC Lottery's current retail lineup centers on draw games, Keno, Fast Play, electronic Tap-N-Play terminal games, and scratch-off Scratchers. Scratch-offs are not pull tabs. A dedicated paper pull-tab retail product is authorized in regulation but is not a prominent part of the current game list.
No bar or commercial pull-tab market
The District has no tribal casinos and no commercial pull-tab venues. There is no documented evidence of pull tabs being sold in DC bars or taverns the way they are in parts of the Midwest. The practical way to encounter pull tabs in DC is at a licensed nonprofit's bingo or raffle event.
Where can I play pull tabs in District of Columbia?
At licensed charitable bingo and raffle events run by qualifying DC nonprofits, where charity game tickets (Nevada chips) may be sold. There is no bar, tavern, or general-retail pull-tab market in the District.