Paper pull-tabs haven’t changed much over the years. Most are two layers of paper about the size of a credit card sandwiched together. Players rip small perforated windows to reveal colorful combinations of fruits or figures. Just the right combination could land you 300 bucks.
It’s a game of chance. Some strike gold, others count their losses. But the operator always wins, with the odds engineered to make enough to cover the cost of the game and leave a little leftover.
Those leftovers go to nonprofits under 1960’s Alaska Charitable Gaming Act. Over half a century later, the paper pull-tab’s much younger brother, the e-tab, wants to play, too.
“The concept about modernizing pull-tabs, or rippies, has been around for quite a while,” Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Republican from Nikiski said.
Bjorkman is sponsoring a bill that would overhaul the state’s pull-tab laws. Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced a similar bill of his own in 2023.
“But the need as costs for labor insurance and then the paper pull-tab costs themselves for the paper tickets really has eroded charities’ and nonprofits’ ability to make money from charitable gaming,” Bjorkman said.
Most pull-tabs sell for $1. Depending on the game, about 85 cents go back to the players. The other 15 cents are split between a designated nonprofit, the distributor, and the venue that sold the pull-tab. In this scenario, the state also collects a fifth of a penny as tax.
Some municipalities like Nome also collect a sales tax on gross sales. Representatives of several Nome nonprofits are proposing a ballot initiative that, if passed by voters, would base the tax on the “ideal net” amount of gross sales minus prize payouts. Under the revised system, nonprofits would earn more money from pull tabs, and the city would collect less sales tax.
Bjorkman said nonprofits in his district are pinching pennies too, with increased shipping costs for the heavy paper pull-tabs putting a squeeze on money going to nonprofits.
Statewide, overall revenue is trending down. According to the Alaska Department of Revenue, the amount going to nonprofits peaked at just over $30 million in 2022. It was down about $8.5 million in 2024. The department expects to publish 2025 data in mid-May.
Rather than shipping massive pallets of paper, the e-tabs would run on tablet computers. People would buy a number of plays and tap on the touch screen until they’re out of turns.
But don’t call it gambling, Bjorkman said.
“I think it's very important for people to know and rest assured that we are not expanding gambling with this bill,” he said.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Democrat from Juneau, disagreed at a March 24 Senate Finance Committee hearing.
“Fundamentally, I have an objection to the bill’s expansion of gambling in Alaska of adding a new, more addictive method with the screens,” Kiehl said. “I have spoken with the sponsor, he’s not caught by surprise here. This bill has a long way to go, more opportunities to work on it.”
Matt Fischer runs Alaska Wholesale, a Soldotna-based distributor of pull-tabs.
"My dad started this business 30 years ago. He was a paper guy,” Fischer said. “A lot of the paper players are getting older, and the younger players, they've already got a phone in their pocket that they have access to an online casino.”
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018. In the five years that followed, Americans’ spending on online sports betting ballooned from $5 billion to over $120 billion a year, according to The Journal of the American Medical Association. Sports betting is illegal in Alaska, but some platforms exploit loopholes to reach people in the state.
“So what you'll see is they're popping their phone out and they are playing some type of game that isn't generating any money for nonprofits in Alaska, and it's going to some international gambling outfit,” Fischer said.
Fischer is an advocate for Bjorkman’s bill. He said by eliminating the cost of paper tickets, the games can pay out more to players and nonprofits, while retaining the social aspect of playing in a public setting.
“It allows that entertainment to be in the bar, and the bar generates a little bit of revenue. The nonprofits generate a whole lot of revenue,” he said. “What we can do with this is amazing.”
The bill would also allow charitable gaming on Alaska Marine Highway System ferries, which Bjorkman said could supplement revenue from fares.
Co-Chair of the House Finance Committee, Neal Foster, said this bill is one of hundreds he’s seen since this group of lawmakers first convened last year. At the end of April, he thought it was likely to die when the regular legislative session ends on May 20.
“I just don't see it making it through the entire process,” Foster said.
Bjorkman’s bill has been ripe since the end of March for the full Senate to send it to the House. Bjorkman wasn’t immediately available to comment on why it stalled, or why now, about seven weeks later, his bill is moving again.
If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, help is available through the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER or by visiting their website.
