- Laws to pressure casinos in Iowa to extinguish smoking has failed
- Iowa’s casinos can allow tobacco smoking anyplace on their gaming flooring, although some designate supposedly smoke-free gaming areas
Iowa casinos will probably retain their smoking privileges for not less than one other yr after laws to pressure the venues to go smoke-free as soon as once more failed in Des Moines.
The outside of Boyd Gaming’s Diamond Jo On line casino is pictured. On line casino smoking in Iowa will probably stay for not less than one other yr after Senate lawmakers pushed apart a invoice to finish the indoor smoking loophole for gaming amenities. (Picture: Getty)
On Monday, a subcommittee with the Senate State Authorities Committee really helpful the indefinite postponement of Senate File 2051. Launched by Sen. Dennis Guth (R-Hancock), the statute sought to get rid of gaming flooring’ indoor smoking exemption from the Iowa Smokefree Air Act of 2008.
Iowa’s 19 state-licensed business casinos are exempt from the clear indoor air legislation. All areas except for the gaming ground, nevertheless, should be smoke-free.
“This invoice eliminates the exception below the Smokefree Air Act, permitting smoking on the gaming flooring,” SF2051 learn. “The invoice thereby topics the whole lot of those premises to the smoking prohibitions of the Act.”
SF2051 was shelved, with on line casino lobbyists arguing a smoking ban would harm enterprise, danger jobs, and cut back state and native tax income. Registered lobbyists towards the invoice included reps from Caesars Leisure, Wild Rose Leisure, Boyd Gaming, Penn Leisure, the Iowa Gaming Affiliation, and Elite On line casino Resorts.
Competing Arguments
Guth expressed disappointment in his smoking invoice being shelved.
The position of presidency is to guard its residents, to guard its freedoms. It’s not about financial growth,” a pissed off Guth declared.
Anti-smoking advocates, together with Traci Kennedy of People for Nonsmokers’ Rights and Jackie Cale of the American Most cancers Society, mentioned Iowa’s on line casino smoking legislation is outdated and catering to a smaller and smaller demographic. It comes at the price of nonsmokers’ and staff’ well being.
The enterprise mannequin constructed on smoking within the yr 2026 doesn’t make sense,” Kennedy mentioned. “Almost 90% of the US inhabitants are nonsmokers, and so we’re catering to a smaller demographic,” mentioned Kennedy, as reported by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Cale testified earlier than the subcommittee that there isn’t any secure stage of secondhand smoke publicity.
On line casino reps contended that it’s not the job of the federal government to play nanny.
No person is making you go to the on line casino. It’s 100% adults,” mentioned Jake Highfill of Penn Leisure. “No person is dragging children throughout the ground. Let adults make grownup choices.”
Throughout related legislative issues final yr, Highfill mentioned there “isn’t any child part” at casinos.
Smoking Prone to Stay
Whereas there are two different payments looking for to finish the Iowa on line casino smoking privilege — Home File 781 and Home Examine Invoice 148 — the percentages lengthened considerably with the Senate State Authorities Subcommittee’s actions.
One other argument raised by the business casinos is {that a} smoking ban would wrongly place their operations at a aggressive drawback with tribal casinos, that are free to find out their very own smoking legal guidelines.
Iowa’s business casinos generated gross gaming income of $1.67 billion within the state’s 2025 fiscal yr. That represented a 2.6% decline from the prior yr.