ANNAPOLIS, MD -- The Maryland Legislature on Aug. 15 approved a gambling expansion bill that will permit up to five electronic or mechanical pull-tab machines in every veterans organization post, according to a story in The Frederick News-Post.
It is unclear whether amusement operators will be permitted to participate in the pull-tab market, which becomes legal on Oct. 1.
Statewide, the pull-tab market may comprise as many as 2,000 machines.
There are 110 posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Maryland; slightly fewer posts are maintained across the state by the American Legion.
The pull-tab authorization measure requires a 90% payout and applies statewide with the sole exception of Montgomery County. For each $100 earned, the state will take $45, most of which will eventually go for veterans' affairs and services, and the location will receive $55.
Some veterans' organizations in the eastern part of the state already have nearly 300 slots, which earned more than $3 million in 2008, said the paper.
Maryland is the second state to legalize electronic pull-tab machines in recent months. As earlier reported by Vending Times, Minnesota legalized the machines effective July 1; that market is expected to launch next year. | SEE STORY
