Senate OKs bill to allow low-stakes gambling in bars

INDIANAPOLIS – A bill that would allow bars and taverns to offer pull tabs and other low-stakes gambling narrowly gained approval Wednesday in the Senate.\nTavern owners have argued that they should be able to offer the games, which are already allowed at charitable fraternal organizations or clubs. Those organizations have long offered pull tabs under a bingo license, and the General Assembly created a specific license for them last year. Bill supporters said tavern owners deserve equal treatment.\n“All they’re asking for is a fair, level playing field,” said Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte.\nThe Senate voted 26-21 for the bill, which had already cleared the House.\nThe bill’s author, Rep. Dennis Tyler, D-Muncie, said before the Senate vote that he would likely seek to have the bill put in a conference committee, where Senate and House members could work out compromise legislation.\nPull tabs, which typically cost $1, are paper games that pay off when symbols underneath tab windows on the back sides of cards match winning combinations shown on the front sides. Other games such as punchboards and tipboards, which also pay out prizes, would also be allowed.\nBesides fees for obtaining licenses to offer the games, excise taxes on the ticket sales also would be collected. Lawmakers have estimated that if the bill becomes law, it would generate between $5 million to $25 million in annual tax revenue.