BYRON, Minn. (KTTC) – The 2024 legislative session is just around the corner and lawmakers are mapping out their plans. During the last legislative session, a new law prohibited electronic pull tabs at bars and restaurants starting in 2025. This would impact organizations that benefit from charitable gambling. Now, Senator Jeremy Miller has proposed a new sports betting bill, included is a fix to pull-tab controversy.

According to the Byron Youth Football Association, its able to donate around $100,000 a year because of electronic pull-tabs. If Miller’s bill doesn’t pass, they say the association would take a roughly 50 percent loss.

“What this proposal does is it restores some of those functions that the charities have been concerned about,” Republican Senator Jeremy Miller said.

Byron Youth Football Association has benefitted from charitable gambling since 2019. Donating to things like town festivals, the fire department, and boy scouts.

It’s hard not to get choked up about it when you’re listening to this stuff that we’re doing for our community all through charitable gambling,” assistant gambling manager Tony Voll said.

Leaders of the association said they have reached out to their local representatives. Gambling manager Justin Stotts said he is cautious until the bill passes.

“Bringing it out this early before the sessions even started really gets the discussion going and I think sets us on a positive track to hopefully get real change passed,” Stotts explained.

The jackpot is bigger than charities, businesses benefit as well.

In Minnesota, charitable gambling collects about three cents on the dollar. Businesses collect roughly 15 cents on the dollar. Often times this is used to pay rent or employees. The rest goes to the state.

“If you live in Minnesota, every single person benefits from charitable gambling. Whether you are part of it or not. The taxes that come in from it go to our state budget. That state budget is spent in the great state of Minnesota,” Byron Youth Football Association president John Stemper said.

In Miller’s proposed bill, even more money would go back to charities.

“The charitable gambling side of it has been around in Minnesota since 1945. It’s not a broken entity, it’s one that I believe should get better and better and better. And I think we’ve taken a huge step back,” Stemper weighed in.

According to Voll, the association will still benefit from paper tabs, but 75 percent of donations come from electronic pull-tabs.

“It’s a real amount that really does affect our community in a positive way,” Voll said.

Electronic pull-tabs are on the way out because native tribes say it is too similar to a casino. However, Miller said there is support from both sides of the isle for the proposed bill.

Coming up on January 24, businesses and charities will get a chance to voice concerns to legislators at the Rochester VFW at 4 p.m.

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