Slow times, busy times,” said Kayla Hanson, who manages River City Pull Tabs in Soldotna. The state doesn’t participate in national lotteries like Powerball or Mega Millions, but does allow games like pull-tabs and bingo. In 1960, the Alaska legislature enacted regulations allowing certain games of chance and contests of skill, for purposes of charitable fundraising. But the shops themselves are also a site of community. Inside pull-tabs shops, which dot the central peninsula, players try their hand at winning money, while proceeds ultimately go back to specific charitable organizations.
In Alaska, gambling and games of chance are limited to the realm of charity.
