Pull tab games are legal in California only as a form of charitable bingo, run by qualifying nonprofits under Penal Code Section 326.5 with a local permit. Anything outside that framework — a for-profit operator, an electronic machine, prizes above the statutory cap — is illegal gambling.
Why California Treats Pull Tabs as Bingo
California generally bans gambling. Penal Code Section 330 makes it a misdemeanor to operate or play any banking or percentage game for money or anything of value.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330 The exception comes from the state Constitution, which lets the Legislature authorize cities and counties to permit bingo for charitable purposes.2Justia Law. California Constitution Article IV Section 19
Penal Code 326.5 carries out that authority, and its definition of “bingo” is where pull tabs enter the picture. The statute covers the traditional caller-based game and also includes “tangible cards having numbers or symbols that are concealed and preprinted in a manner providing for distribution of prizes.”3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 That is a pull tab: a preprinted paper card with hidden symbols the player reveals. Under California law, pull tabs are not a separate category of gambling. They are bingo, and they live under bingo’s rules.
Two constraints sit right inside that definition. Electronics and video displays cannot be used with the game, aside from the caller’s number drawing and its public display. And every pull tab card must carry the printed legend “for sale or use only in a bingo game authorized under California law and pursuant to local ordinance.”
Who’s Allowed to Run Pull Tab Games
Only certain nonprofits can operate pull tabs, and only after the city or county where the games will happen passes an ordinance authorizing bingo and issues the organization a license under it. Setting up a booth without both pieces in place is illegal, no matter how charitable the intent.
The organizations that qualify are those exempt from California’s bank and corporation tax under sections listed in the statute, plus mobilehome park associations, senior citizens organizations, and charitable groups affiliated with a school district.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 In practical terms:
- Charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational organizations
- Fraternal organizations operating under the lodge system
- Veterans’ posts and organizations
- Mobilehome park associations and senior citizens organizations
- Charitable organizations affiliated with a school district
Where and how the games run is also fixed by statute. Games can only be held on property the organization owns, leases, or has been donated the use of. The games must be open to the public rather than limited to members. And only members of the organization may operate and staff them.
The Operating Rules That Keep a Game Legal
The line between a lawful fundraiser and a criminal operation runs through a handful of specific rules.
No One Draws a Wage or Profit
No one involved in running the game can take a profit, wage, or salary from it. Paying or receiving one carries a fine of up to $10,000.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 The one exception written into the statute lets the organization pay security personnel from bingo revenues, even if those security workers are not members.
Prizes Are Capped at $500
The total value of prizes for any single bingo game cannot exceed $500 in cash or kind.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 Because pull tabs are legally bingo, that cap applies to each pull tab game or deal.
Proceeds Go Into a Separate Account
Money from pull tabs must sit in a separate fund and cannot be commingled with the organization’s other money.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 Those funds can only pay for:
- Prizes to winners
- Overhead and administrative costs, capped at the lower of 20% of gross proceeds or $3,000 per month, with the monthly cap adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2025
- License fees charged by the local jurisdiction
- Charitable purposes
If an organization’s monthly gross receipts exceed $5,000, the local ordinance may require a minimum percentage to go exclusively to charitable purposes unrelated to running the bingo operation itself.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5
Minors Cannot Play
The statute bars minors from participating in any bingo game, and that includes pull tabs.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5
Electronic Pull Tab Machines Are a Different Question
A pull tab machine that dispenses results on a screen is not legal charitable bingo in California. The bingo statute expressly prohibits electronics and video displays in connection with the game, and a device that takes money and pays prizes based on chance sits squarely inside Penal Code Section 330a’s prohibition on slot machines and similar devices.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330a
The California Department of Justice reached that conclusion in its advisory on the Tab Force device, a machine that generated pull tab cards on a video screen. The Division of Gambling Control found the device fell under the state’s anti-gambling-device statutes regardless of how the individual cards were characterized.6State of California Department of Justice. Tab Force Gambling Device Advisory The statute itself reinforces the point: the Legislature said its definition of bingo “applies exclusively to this section and shall not be applied in the construction or enforcement of any other provision of law.” Calling a machine a pull tab dispenser does not immunize it from Section 330a.
Tribal Casinos Follow Different Rules
Pull tabs offered by California tribal casinos operate under federal law rather than state law. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act classifies pull tabs as Class II gaming, the same category as traditional bingo, and Class II games are regulated by tribal governments and the National Indian Gaming Commission.7Legal Information Institute. 25 USC 2703(7) – Class II Gaming Definition That is why electronic pull tab devices can appear inside a tribal casino while the same machine would be illegal on the other side of the reservation line.
What a Violation Costs
Penalties stack depending on which law is broken. Operating an unauthorized gambling game under Section 330 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330
Inside the charitable bingo framework, paying or receiving a wage or profit from a bingo operation carries a fine of up to $10,000, and violating any other provision of Section 326.5 is a misdemeanor.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5 The local government that authorized the ordinance can also sue to shut down a noncompliant operation.
Possessing an illegal electronic gambling device under Section 330a is a separate misdemeanor.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330a Someone running electronic pull tab machines outside of tribal land could face charges under both 330a and 330.
Taxes on Pull Tab Winnings
Pull tab winnings are gambling income. For calendar year 2026, the minimum threshold for reporting gambling winnings on Form W-2G is $2,000.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (Rev. January 2026) Because California caps pull tab prizes at $500 per game, most winners at a charitable event will not trigger a W-2G. All gambling income is still taxable, though, whether or not a form is issued. A $50 win at a church fundraiser belongs on your federal return.