Charitable gambling drops in North Dakota over decade; economy, smoking bans blamed

Gambling drops in North Dakota over decade

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota’s charitable gambling industry is making less money than it has in a decade due largely to a declining economy and smoking bans, the director of the State Gaming Division said.

Keith Lauer, whose agency regulates the charitable gambling industry, said North Dakotans spent $250.8 million on bingo, pull tabs, blackjack and other games of chance last year, compared to $265.7 million in 2008 and $255.1 million in 1999.

“The economy has something to do with it for sure,” Lauer said of the slide. Gamblers who also are smokers have tended to stay way from betting establishments where smoking is prohibited, particularly in Fargo where smoking is banned in all bars, he said.

Despite the downturn, the industry appears far from calamitous. The state began games of chance in 1977, when only $5.9 million was wagered. It has been a quarter-billion-dollar industry for more than a decade and state records show that North Dakotans gambled more than $400 per state resident annually during that time.

Lauer said North Dakota and Alaska have historically traded the top slot as biggest gamblers per capita in the United States.

Long winters in sparsely populated states probably contribute to gambling, he said.

“There are few opportunities for entertainment in the winter months,” he said. “Opportunities for gaming are always out there.”

More than $2.8 billion has been wagered in North Dakota during the 11-year period ending in 2009, Lauer said. Of that, $2.3 billion has been paid in prizes, he said.

The state has garnered $129 million from gambling taxes since 1999 and charities have shared in $178.3 million in net proceeds, Lauer said.

At present, about 330 nonprofits are involved in gambling, he said.

The Grand Forks-based North Dakota Association for the Disabled is the biggest beneficiary of gambling in the state. The organization’s gross revenue last year was $20.6 million, down from $23.3 million in 2008 and $30.2 million in 2004.

“It’s a downward trend for sure,” said Ron Gibbins, the organization’s president. Money from gambling buys wheelchairs, prescription drugs and other services for the disabled. He said his group has been involved in gambling since 1982 and has sites at Grand Forks, Bismarck, Minot and Fargo.

Smoking bans at bars and Bingo halls have hurt gambling sales, Gibbins said.

“We’ve definitely seen an impact but in Minot and Bismarck, where you can still smoke, revenue is still down,” he said. “It’s a mystery to me.”

Gibbins said some charitable gaming revenue may be lost to the statewide lottery, which voters approved in 2002. He said some bets also may be lost to the state’s five American Indian casinos by luring younger gamblers from lowly pull-tabs and bingo cards to flashy slot machines.

“This is the age of technology and more people are interested in technology,” Gibbins said.