North Dakota attorney general Drew Wrigley has announced a settlement with three gambling equipment distributors he accused in April of violating the state’s charitable gambling laws and regulations.
But now their licenses could be in jeopardy if he finds issues with an email he said the companies sent to their customers regarding the settlement.
The settlement, which includes a $125,000 fine and acknowledgement of wrongdoing, comes as state lawmakers and gambling regulators have been grappling with issues related to electronic pull tab machines, which have proliferated in North Dakota since 2018.
The Legislature this spring passed a bill to limit the devices, which function like slot machines, while a legislative study of the state’s charitable gambling issues unfolds.
Wrigley said in an interview he is reviewing the email sent to the distributors’ customers and any related statements the companies might make, citing an agreement of the settlement that the distributors “will refrain from making any statements contrary” to the settlement’s terms and acknowledgements.
He wouldn’t elaborate on what in the email caught his attention, an email he called “a very significant and troubling development.” His office has reached out to the distributors’ counsel, he said.
“This is not a public relations matter for them. It’s a legal matter,” he said.
Wrigley said he has discretion to revoke the distributors’ licenses if he finds the email violated the terms of the settlement.
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AP