Iowa Casino Smoking Will Remain, as Legislation Once Again Flutters
Posted on: January 27, 2026, 12:45h.
Last updated on: January 27, 2026, 12:56h.
- Legislation to force casinos in Iowa to extinguish smoking has failed
- Iowa’s casinos can permit tobacco smoking anywhere on their gaming floors, though some designate supposedly smoke-free gaming areas
Iowa casinos will likely retain their smoking privileges for at least another year after legislation to force the venues to go smoke-free once again failed in Des Moines.
On Monday, a subcommittee with the Senate State Government Committee recommended the indefinite postponement of Senate File 2051. Introduced by Sen. Dennis Guth (R-Hancock), the statute sought to eliminate gaming floors’ indoor smoking exemption from the Iowa Smokefree Air Act of 2008.
Iowa’s 19 state-licensed commercial casinos are exempt from the clean indoor air law. All areas aside from the gaming floor, however, must be smoke-free.
“This bill eliminates the exception under the Smokefree Air Act, allowing smoking on the gaming floors,” SF2051 read. “The bill thereby subjects the entirety of these premises to the smoking prohibitions of the Act.”
SF2051 was shelved, with casino lobbyists arguing a smoking ban would hurt business, risk jobs, and reduce state and local tax revenue. Registered lobbyists against the bill included reps from Caesars Entertainment, Wild Rose Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Penn Entertainment, the Iowa Gaming Association, and Elite Casino Resorts.
Competing Arguments
Guth expressed disappointment in his smoking bill being shelved.
The role of government is to protect its citizens, to protect its freedoms. It is not about economic development,” a frustrated Guth declared.
Anti-smoking advocates, including Traci Kennedy of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights and Jackie Cale of the American Cancer Society, said Iowa’s casino smoking law is outdated and catering to a smaller and smaller demographic. It comes at the cost of nonsmokers’ and employees’ health.
The business model built on smoking in the year 2026 does not make sense,” Kennedy said. “Nearly 90% of the US population are nonsmokers, and so we’re catering to a smaller demographic,” said Kennedy, as reported by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Cale testified before the subcommittee that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure.
Casino reps contended that it’s not the job of the government to play nanny.
Nobody is making you go to the casino. It is 100% adults,” said Jake Highfill of Penn Entertainment. “Nobody is dragging kids across the floor. Let adults make adult decisions.”
During similar legislative considerations last year, Highfill said there “is no kid section” at casinos.
Smoking Likely to Remain
While there are two other bills seeking to end the Iowa casino smoking privilege — House File 791 and House Study Bill 148 — the odds lengthened significantly with the Senate State Government Subcommittee’s actions.
Another argument raised by the commercial casinos is that a smoking ban would wrongly place their operations at a competitive disadvantage with tribal casinos, which are free to determine their own smoking laws.
Iowa’s commercial casinos generated gross gaming revenue of $1.67 billion in the state’s 2025 fiscal year. That represented a 2.6% decline from the prior year.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Mohegan Sun in Connecticut banned smoking in all areas of the property, including the casino floor. They also provide designated smoking areas at various locations outside the property - near entrance/exit doors. Based on their financial performance the smoking ban doesn't seem to be impacting their bottom line. The casino conglomerates are afraid that any minute change to their operating procedures will be so dramatic that they'll be forced to closer their doors and go out of business. "OMG, the sky is falling, the sky is falling". But operational changes that result in more customers being hit with outrageous fees and nickel-and-diming charges are just Aces in their eyes. instead of catering to the 90% of customers that don't smoke, they're kissing the asses of the !0% sucking on Cancer Sticks.