SOUTH BEND — Dozens of new laws went into effect Tuesday, including a hotly debated measure that allows low stakes paper based gambling at bars across Indiana.

The games cannot include any electronic or video based gaming machines, but the law does allow for pull tabs, tip boards or other paper based games.

At Squad's 2nd Precinct bar and restaurant in Mishawaka, the sales numbers are grim.

"They've dropped 25 or 30 percent down from what they were two years ago," said owner Jeff Chamberlin. "We need some extra income."

Pull tabs seemed like the perfect solution.

"We used to have them before, somewhat illegally, but they used to play them. But now, we can get a little something just so we can help pay our bills," said Chamberlin.

So Chamberlin paid the $250 licensing fee to offer the games legally. Although his license isn't expected to arrive for another week or so, he says he'll make the money back in a matter of days when it does.

"You could probably go about $700 a week [in profits] on it," he said. "That would probably pay our electric bill."

The games are simple. Each pull tab costs $1. Players can win cash prizes between $1 and $250 if the symbols underneath the cardboard tabs match preset combinations on the front of the card. Winners can redeem their tickets instantly.

At Bob's Pub in South Bend, the signs are already up advertising big wins in games like "high roller" and "slammed I am." Bartenders began selling the tabs by hand behind the bar after midnight Monday night.

Bar owners can also choose to set up an electronic vending machine to sell the tickets, but few have gone that route so far. Chamberlin estimates a used vending machine can cost as much as $2,500. New machines often list for as much as $4,000.

At Bob's Pub, loyal customers say, so far, it's been nothing more than harmless fun.

"It's just a little excitement in your life," said Debbie Scott, who bought a pull tab at the pub on Tuesday. "They have the Hoosier Lotto, and other things like this, but this is better for some people."

The added income will also put bars on par with private clubs and fraternal organizations, who have offered paper low stakes games for years.

"The whole purpose of this was to help out the small "mom and pop" bars that might be struggling a little bit," Indiana Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein told WSBT Tuesday. "Nobody's going to get rich off of this, but I've talked to a lot of our members who said it will generate enough income for them to at least add another employee."

"Most of the people that are going to participate in this are your local neighborhood bars, a place where the person who owns it lives in the community and the money generally stays in the community that generated it," Klopfenstein added.

About 10 percent of the revenue from the new paper games will kick back into Indiana's general tax fund.

According to the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, approximately 450 gambling license applications have been reviewed or granted so far. They include the following local licenses:

-St. Joseph County: 18 total license applications
-Elkhart County: 12 total license applications
-LaPorte County: 16 total license applications
-Marshall County: 1 license application
-Starke County: 3 total license applications
Kosciusko County: 7 total license applications

Klopfenstein says the numbers represent about half of what he projected initially, but that may represent an encouraging sign for at least some businesses.

"It tells me that maybe bars aren't quite as bad off as we might have thought. So, I think that's probably a source of optimism," he said.

WSBT's phone calls to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for more updated application statistics and comment were not returned Tuesday.

While Klopfenstein admits the new law could require some "tweaking" down the road, he says transitioning to low stakes gambling at local bars shouldn't be a problem.

"This is no different than a product the lottery already sells in every grocery store in the state basically," he said. "I don't see any significant problems with it."

Others say there's one major difference between these games and the lottery: the presence of alcohol.

"Gambling is a very addictive type of behavior," said Elizabeth Fagen, a South Bend social worker. "Coupled with drinking, I just think it will lead to a lot of negative consequences."

Fagen, and other opponents of the bar gambling law worry that lowered inhibitions will mean higher spending.

"[Alcohol] makes people have less control of their thinking and their behavior," said Fagen. "And even if it's something that starts at a minimal sort of threshold, the amount can easily go up, and pretty soon you're spending lots of money people don't have to spend."

Indiana Excise Police will be in charge of enforcing the new law. Several new officers have already been hired to handle the added workload it could create.

But for Chamberlin, and others, paper gaming is a low stakes gamble for both bars and the state. He says, it's a gamble that could pay off big by helping bars like his keep their doors open.

In fact, he and several other bar owners WSBT spoke with said they favored expanding the new gaming law to include electronic gambling.

"I'd like to see it expanded to those Cherry-master machines or video poker machines, or something like that. I think that would help even more," Chamberlin said.

He acknowledged it's unlikely that request will be granted anytime soon.

"A little bit of something is better than nothing," he said.

"We have no plans to seek any sort of an expansion on this," added Klopfenstein. "This is a pretty great gift the legislature's already given us."