Iowa Casino Smoking Ban Bill Progress House Commerce Subcommittee

Under current Iowa law, players can smoke anywhere throughout the 19 casinos in the state, but legislation is moving forward that could soon put it out. 

Earlier this week, a House Commerce subcommittee voted to progress House Study Bill 148 forward. 

It was filed earlier this month by Rep. Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, and was co-sponsored by Rep. Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. 

This bill would change the current Iowa Smokefree Air Act. 

This comes as Kansas is also pushing to ban smoking indoors at casinos. 

Lundgren: “One of the Reasons I Ran”

The Iowa Smokefree Air Act was enacted in 2008 to protect people from secondhand smoke in public places and at work. However, licensed gaming outlets were among the exceptions. 

“It is one of the reasons I ran,” Lundgren said.

She got into politics about a decade ago. She has a history of being a casino lobbyist, and her family co-owns the Trackside Bar & Grill. Smoking isn’t allowed there. 

Scheetz is from Cedar Rapids, where the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission recently approved a casino application. 

Scheetz says this would protect workers, though the law wouldn’t affect the four tribal casinos. That said, Prairie Flower has opted to go smoke-free. 

Bill Facing Long Odds? 

There are 27 states that have commercial casinos. Of those, 16 allow indoor smoking in the casino in some way. 

The main argument against this legislation is that the casinos would be at a disadvantage compared to neighboring Missouri, which allows smoking.

Numerous operators, including Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, and more, oppose a ban. 

Those in favor of the ban cite worker health, potentially lower the cancer rate in the state, and bring down employer health care costs. 

Update on New Cedar Rapids Casino

The casino approved earlier this month, Cedar Crossing Casino, plans to allow for smoking. 

A moratorium for new licenses failed, and the IRGC approved the $275 million project. 

Now, Sen. Scott Webster and Rep. Megan Jones, both Republicans, have filed bills to ban “urban renewal” projects that want to have gaming. 

“The bill prohibits an urban renewal plan from including projects related to the property upon which a license has been issued on or after January 1, 2025, to a licensee to conduct gambling games … and prohibits the urban renewal area from including the property upon which such a licensee operates,” Webster and Jones’ Senate Study Bill 1159 and House Study Bill 208 says.

For this casino, Cedar Rapids is selling 25 acres of city-owned land, and Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell says this will help renew the northwest corner of the city.