Clock Ticking on Casino Smoking Legislation in Missouri, Smoking Ban in Kansas Fails
Posted on: March 25, 2026, 08:59h.
Last updated on: March 25, 2026, 08:59h.
- Legislation to ban Missouri casino smoking is facing long odds
- A bill to eliminate secondhand smoke inside Kansas casinos failed
With a legislative deadline fast approaching, time is running out on a bill that would force casinos to go smoke-free in Missouri.
Missouri allows commercial casinos to permit indoor tobacco use. Casinos can designate up to 30% of their gaming floor for cigarettes and cigars, but smoking is prohibited outside of the casino areas.
House Bill 1618 seeks to amend the state’s Clean Indoor Air Law of 1993 to remove the casino smoking exemption. The bill has a ways to go, should it be enacted this year, as the state legislative body in Jefferson City moves closer to adjourning for 2026.
Missouri Casino Smoking
Missouri lawmakers earlier this year seemed intent on forcing its 13 casinos to go smoke-free. HB1618 was introduced with bipartisan support, with the legislation authored by state Rep. Bruce Sassmann (R-Montgomery) being joined by two other Republicans and four Democrats.
HB1618 was read twice on the House floor in January but was never assigned to a committee for initial review. With the Missouri General Assembly scheduled to adjourn on May 15, the odds at this juncture seem long for casino smoking to be extinguished this year.
Among Missouri’s neighboring states that have commercial or tribal casinos, only Illinois and Nebraska require smoke-free gaming. Casinos in Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma permit tobacco consumption.
Kansas Smoking Bill Fails
In neighboring Kansas, the state’s four casinos allow smoking anywhere on the gaming floor. Senate Bill 176 sought to amend the Kansas Clean Air Act of 2010 to clear secondhand smoke from Boot Hill, Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, Kansas Crossing, and Kansas Star.
Kansas Senate Bill 176 sat dormant since February after it was referred to the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs. The committee authored the statute on request by state Sen. Mike Thompson (R-Johnson).
A companion bill in the Kansas House of Representatives, requested by Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, also lingered since February. House Bill 2252 sat with the House Committee on Health and Human Services for weeks without action.
While the Kansas Legislature isn’t to adjourn until April 10, SB176/HB2252 are dead for this year because they failed to cross over to the other chamber before the state’s Feb. 19 crossover day.
Kansas borders Missouri and Oklahoma, where casino smoking continues. Oklahoma’s tribal casinos are free to determine their own laws on indoor smoking, as the properties are owned by sovereign nations.
Smoking Rates
Missouri and Kansas have elevated smoking rates compared to the national average.
The American Lung Association reports that 16.8% of adults in Missouri and 14.5% of Kansas adults smoke. That’s considerably higher than the national average of 11.6%.
Each year, approximately 490,000 people die from tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
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