An electronic pull tab machine, right, sits next to a prototype voucher redemption machine in the training center of the gaming division, part of the Office of the North Dakota Attorney General. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota Senate voted 27-20  to pass a bill changing which organizations can conduct charitable gambling.

Senators debated changes made by the Senate Judiciary Committee in Senate Bill 2035, which pulled the words tourism and economic development from the definition of public-spirited organizations, one category of groups allowed to conduct gambling. It also eliminates adult amateur sports organizations from conducting charitable gambling.

Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, told lawmakers the bill is a response to the expansion of the industry.

As of Dec. 31, the state had 5,250 electronic pull tab machines, similar to slot machines, operated at more than 840 different sites in North Dakota, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Gaming Director Deb McDaniel told lawmakers that her office sometimes gets complaints about what organizations qualify as a charity.