EVANSVILLE — On the surface, it’s about modernizing charitable gaming by expanding the state’s definition of pull tabs to include electronic versions so veterans organizations can attract younger members and donate more to charity.
That’s what PlayIN for Charity — a collaboration of Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Guard Association of Indiana and other nonprofits and charities — told three local legislators and about 30 veterans at Post 1114 Wednesday in Evansville.
The group says State Rep. Ethan Manning (R-Logansport) , chairman of the House Public Policy Committee, is crafting legislation that would revise state charity gaming law to add other options — specifically e-tabs, electronic renditions of the paper pull tabs so popular with older veterans. Veterans posts keep a percentage of every wager, typically about 50 cents of every dollar.
Pull tabs operate like a lottery — a marriage between bingo and scratch-off tickets — in which the player pulls off strips of paper to reveal symbols, numbers or letters underneath. If the player matches up enough of them, he wins. E-tabs feature the same gameplay, but the games appear on flashy, colorful video display on tablets and casino-like cabinet machines.