Group advocates for electronic pull tabs in Indiana with town hall
Sep 18, 2024
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- An organization aimed at making electronic pull tabs (e-tabs) available in Indiana for charitable gaming hosted a town hall in Fort Wayne Wednesday to promote the issue.
PlayIN for Charity, a charitable gaming alliance, consists of leaders from the "Big Four" veterans service organizations in Indiana:
American Legion
Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
National Guard Association of Indiana
Leaders at the town hall said having e-tabs, which are an electronic version of traditional paper pull tabs, would help veterans by raising money for the aforementioned organizations and bringing in younger members.
"I really think, and I think some of the other [veteran service organizations] share this same thought, that it'll help attract younger members into our posts because they're not used to playing paper games. They're used to playing video games and electronic-type games," said Richard Leirer a former state commander for the VFW.
Traditional pull tabs, which are classified as "Type-II Gambling" by the State of Indiana, is regulated by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission instead of the Indiana Gaming Commission. However, e-tabs are not listed under that classification and are illegal in Indiana.
Leirer and Mark Gullion, a former state commander for the American Legion Department of Indiana, hope events like Wednesday's town hall will help increase awareness of the issue and convince lawmakers to legalize e-tabs.
"We have to talk to the legislators and show them the reasons for doing it and why it benefits the veterans and everybody in the State of Indiana for that matter," Leirer said.
Those attending Wednesday's town hall were also taken on tours of an interactive bus that showcased e-tab technology.