Minn. GOP bill would roll back 2023 limits on electronic pull-tabs as charities report sharp revenue declines

State Representative Bjorn Olsen, R-District 22A, introduced House File 733 on charitable gambling Friday, saying the bill would remove restrictions placed on electronic pull-tabs in 2023 and restore features charities say were stripped from the games.

Olsen said the 2023 changes have "significantly hindered our charities and our veteran organizations" and that House File 733 would return charitable gambling "back to the way it was, back to the successes that we had seen for the last decade." He said the bill advanced from the veterans committee and is now in the commerce committee.

The bill comes after nonprofit and veterans groups reported steep drops in revenue during the first month of the new games. Amanda Jackson, gambling manager for the Spring Lake Park Lions Club, told the panel that gross ETAP sales for her organization fell from $947,000 in January 2024 to $816,000 in January 2025. She said the club "netted a loss of $7,000 while paying $78,000 to the state of Minnesota in taxes" for January 2025.

"We serve," Jackson said. "All we are asking is to continue with our missions and serve others. Serve those in need, serve those who are serving others, and continue to do our part to make our little corner of the world the best it can be for those who work, live, and attend school there."

Rachel Keller, president of the Bloomington Kennedy Activities Foundation, said her group partners with a local American Legion post and that the post's decreased gambling revenue threatens donations to student programs. "Last year alone, the Post was able to give our foundation over $30,000," Keller said, adding that the post's lower receipts will reduce support for shoes, fees, uniforms and other student needs.

Tim Engstrom, gambling manager for the American Legion in Bloomington and communications director for the American Legion Department of Minnesota, said his operation's net receipts in January were down about 29% compared with January 2024 and that e-tabs in some locations were down 44% year over year. He told lawmakers charities still pay a 33% share of net receipts in taxes and face higher operating costs, including rising minimum wage and game prices.

"We veterans, we didn't stop serving the country after we got out of the military," Engstrom said. "When the legislature in 2023 stripped features from ePoltab games, we knew it would impact our ability to raise revenue for these programs. Now it's happening."

Rachel Jenner, executive director of Allied Charities, told lawmakers her group has been negotiating as a stakeholder on a separate sports-betting bill that could direct money to charities. Jenner said Allied Charities estimates total ETAB revenue last year at $386,000,000 and warned that a 20–30% decline in ETAB receipts would not be fully offset by the sports-betting proposal, which she said seeks to direct about $40,000,000 in relief.

Lawmakers asked whether modified sports-betting revenue would make a repeal unnecessary. Jenner and others said offsets likely would not fully replace the early-month declines.

Speakers repeatedly described how local donations fund a range of community services — fire-department equipment, bilingual summer programs, school supplies, youth sports, food shelves, and shelter services — and warned those programs could shrink if revenues do not recover.

No formal vote on House File 733 was recorded at the hearing excerpted here. Olsen told the panel the bill had passed the veterans committee and moved to commerce; he said he was optimistic about further action but did not promise a final passage this session.

Discussion vs. decision: testimony at the hearing was framed as stakeholder comment and committee progress; lawmakers and witnesses discussed potential compromises, including restoring some playability features or securing larger tax relief, but no formal changes were adopted during the session excerpt.

The committee heard repeated testimony that the 2023 law went into effect Jan. 1 and that, by design or consequence, there were no commercially available games nationwide that matched the new restrictions, prompting delays and new game rollouts for operators.

Next steps: House File 733 remains under consideration in the House; proponents said it advanced from the veterans committee to commerce. Witnesses urged swift legislative action to avoid further reductions in charitable giving.