If you have ever pulled a paper tab at a Nebraska bar or club, you were most likely playing a pickle card. Pickle card is simply Nebraska's official name for a pull-tab, and it is a well-established form of charitable gaming here. The games are legal and regulated by the Nebraska Department of Revenue, Charitable Gaming Division, and the money they raise goes to qualified nonprofit causes. They are authorized under the Nebraska Pickle Card Lottery Act.
Who can run pickle cards in Nebraska
Pickle cards are a charitable, nonprofit form of gaming, not a commercial casino game. Only qualifying nonprofit organizations that hold the proper license may sell them. In practice these are groups such as veterans posts, fraternal clubs, religious and civic organizations, and volunteer fire and rescue groups that use the profits to support their charitable purposes.
Certain licensed businesses, typically bars and taverns, can also be licensed as pickle card operators to sell the cards on behalf of a nonprofit. The manufacturers, distributors, and sales agents who supply the games must be licensed as well, so every step of the chain is tracked by the Charitable Gaming Division.
How they work and where you find them
Under state law a pickle card is a disposable paper card, board, or ticket. You open, pull, or peel back one or more tabs to reveal a set of numbers, letters, or symbols, and a matching combination wins a cash prize. Other common names for the same thing include break-open, pull-tab, seal card, and punchboard.
You buy them across the counter at licensed spots, and often from vending machines called pickle card dispensing devices, which hold the paper cards and dispense them when you pay. These dispensing devices must be registered with the state and carry a current decal.
Rules and notable points
You must be at least 18 years old to play pickle cards in Nebraska. The games are a long-established, licensed form of charitable gaming overseen by the Charitable Gaming Division, which also regulates bingo, lotteries, and raffles.
Nebraska pickle cards are physical paper tickets. The law defines a pickle card as a paper card, board, or ticket, and it does not authorize tablet-style electronic pull-tabs, so even the vending machines dispense real paper cards rather than running an electronic game. Anyone buying should remember these are games of chance meant to raise money for a good cause, not a guaranteed way to win.
Where can I play pull tabs in Nebraska?
You will find pickle cards at licensed bars and taverns, VFW and American Legion posts, Elks, Eagles, and other fraternal clubs, and similar spots that sell them on behalf of licensed Nebraska nonprofits.
Find a spot439 places to play pull tabs in Nebraska