Do not be mistaken, those brand new 500 video pull tub machines, installed by the Iowa Lottery in such places as taverns, fraternal clubs and convenience stores are not slot machines, as has been recurrently noted by state officials. In spite of the stark resemblance to slots, in cheery music and video features that, they do seem to operate in a different manner. Last year Lottery officials said that they hope to eventually be able to offer 4,000 video pull-tab machines that are prospected to generate a turnover of $20 million.
The confusion caused some of the convenience stores in Davenport and Bettendorf earlier this month to advertise the new attraction as slots. The penalty that these convenience stores had to endure was a weekly license suspension. Retailers are strictly forbidden to use any misleading designations while advertising their games, as specified by the Iowa Lottery administrative rules. Lottery Vice President, Mary Neubauer maintained that this also applies to such words as casino, slot machines or video lottery
To avoid further entanglement, the Iowa Board released a clarifying note on this regard. The new slot-like machines do not allow credit cards to be used. Players slip in coins and a pull-tab ticket slides out. The monitor later on determines whether the ticket is a winner and is responsible for the payouts.
