Minnesota is one of the biggest pull-tab states in the country, and the game is woven into everyday life here. It is legal as a form of lawful (charitable) gambling, meaning it exists to raise money for nonprofit causes, not for private profit.
Who is allowed to run pull tabs
Only a licensed nonprofit organization can conduct pull tabs in Minnesota. The group has to be registered as a nonprofit and licensed by the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, and it can only use the proceeds for lawful purposes it reports to the state. A bar cannot simply sell pull tabs for its own account. It hosts a licensed charity that runs the game on the premises.
Pull tabs are one of five forms of lawful gambling the state allows nonprofits to conduct, alongside bingo, raffles, paddlewheels, and tipboards.
Paper and electronic pull tabs
Both paper and electronic pull tabs are legal in Minnesota. E-tabs are played on a handheld tablet, and the state famously used the tax revenue from them to help fund U.S. Bank Stadium. Legally, an electronic pull-tab game is still a finite deal: a Minnesota e-tab game draws from a predetermined pool capped at 7,500 tickets, with the winners and losers set in advance. That fixed-deal design is what keeps it on the right side of the line from a slot machine.
The e-tab open-all fight
This is the part of Minnesota pull-tab law that keeps making the news. For years, e-tabs offered an open-all button that revealed every symbol at once with a single tap, which critics said made the games look and feel too much like slot machines. Tribal governments, which hold the exclusive right to run true slots in Minnesota, objected, and a court agreed the feature had been allowed improperly.
A state law phasing out open-all and similar features took effect at the start of 2025, changing how the games play. Lawmakers have since gone back and forth on whether to soften or repeal those restrictions, so the exact feel of an e-tab here can shift with the legislative session. None of that changes the basic answer: pull tabs, paper and electronic, are legal to play in Minnesota at licensed locations.
Where can I play pull tabs in Minnesota?
You will find pull tabs at licensed spots statewide: neighborhood bars, restaurants, VFW and American Legion posts, and fraternal clubs. You must be 18 or older to play.
Find a spot3,841 places to play pull tabs in Minnesota