Quality standards for pull tabs

A manufacturer shall manufacture paper pull tabs according to these standards: 1. Construction. a. A deal must be designed, constructed, glued, and assembled to prevent the determination of a winning pull tab or numbers or symbols without first removing the tabs or other covering. b. All the pull tabs of a deal must have the same game serial number which cannot be repeated on the same form number for three years. c. When a tab or other covering is removed, the numbers or symbols must be fully visible in the window. The numbers or symbols can be displaced to the left or right in a window for increased security. d. The window slits on a pull tab must be perforated on three sides. A pull tab must be glued on all four edges and between each window. The glue must be of sufficient strength and type to prevent any separation. 2. Opacity. Concealed numbers, symbols, or winner protection features cannot be viewed or determined from the outside of a pull tab using a high-intensity lamp. 3. Color. It must not be possible to detect or pick out winning from losing pull tabs through a variation in printing graphics or colors. 4. Printed information. The minimum information printed on a pull tab must be as follows, except that subdivisions b, c, and d are not required for a folded or banded jar ticket or to a two-ply or three-ply card with only one perforated break-open tab which measures one and one-quarter inches by two and one-quarter inches or less in size, subdivisions a, c, d, and e are not required for pull tabs used with a tip board, and subdivisions b, c, and e are not required for a pull tab used with a prize board: a. Name of manufacturer or its logo; b. Name of game; c. Cost per pull tab; d. Manufacturer's form number; e. Number of winning pull tabs and winning numbers or symbols, and prize amounts, or a flare must be included with the game providing that information; and f. Unique minimum five-character game serial number, printed on the game information side of the pull tab. 5. Winner protection. A unique symbol or printed security device, such as a specific number keyed to a particular winning pull tab, or the name of the symbol or some of the symbol colors changed for a winning pull tab, or other similar protection must be placed in the winning windows of winning pull tabs. Also, a winning pull tab that has a prize greater than twenty dollars must have a secondary form of winner verification. 6. Randomization. The winning pull tabs must be intermixed among all other pull tabs in a deal to eliminate any pattern between deals, or portions of deals, from which the location or approximate location of any winning pull tab may be determined. A deal must be assembled so that no placement of winning or losing pull tabs exists that allows prize manipulation or pick out. Banded jar tickets packaged in a bag must be randomized. 7. Guillotine cutting. It must not be possible to isolate winning or potential winning pull tabs of a deal by variations in size or the appearance of a cut edge of the pull tabs. 8. Packaging. a. A deal must contain a seal warning the purchaser that the deal may have been tampered with if the container was received with the seal broken. A seal must ensure that a deal's pull tabs are not accessible from outside the container when sealed. A manufacturer shall seal or tape every entry point into the container. The seal or tape must be tamper-resistant and be designed so that should a container be opened or tampered with, it would be easily noticed. For jar tickets packaged in a bag, the glue used to seal the flap of the bag must be permanent adhesive glue. The required seal cannot be a manufacturer's cellophane shrink wrap. b. A manufacturer shall print, in bold letters, "Pull tabs must be removed from this packaging container and thoroughly mixed before sale to the public" or similar language on the outside of a container. c. A deal's game serial number must be legibly placed on or be able to be viewed from the outside of the deal's container. d. For a deal shipped to North Dakota, a flare for a pull tab or jar ticket deal must be located on the outside of the deal's sealed container so that the manufacturer's security seal will not be broken to access the flare. 9. Number of top tier winners. A deal must have at least two top tier winning pull tabs, except for a deal for a prize board and a last sale prize feature. 10. A manufacturer may not duplicate (print) a winning number, symbol, or set of symbols of any nonpromotional jar ticket or pull tab on any promotional jar ticket or pull tab.