Iowa Senate shelves bill to ban smoking on casino gaming floors

A bill that would have banned smoking on casino gaming floors in Iowa didn’t go anywhere this week, after a Senate subcommittee voted to shelve the proposal indefinitely.

The legislation, Senate File 2051, was introduced as “An Act relating to the elimination of the exemption of gaming floors from the prohibitions of the smokefree air Act.” The bill proposed a change to state law by amending Iowa Code section 142D.4 “by striking the subsection” that currently allows smoking on certain gaming floors.

Iowa casino smoking ban bill would have applied to all types of indoor public spaces

Under the proposal, casinos and racetracks covered by Iowa Code chapter 99F would have lost their exemption that currently allows smoking. The bill’s explanation stated that it would apply to “gambling structures, excursion gambling boats, and racetracks,” and that the change would subject those facilities to the same smoking prohibitions as other indoor public places.

Casino Smoking Ban Rejected in Iowa Senate Subcommittee
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An Iowa Senate subcommittee has rejected a bill that would have ended smoking inside casinos, racetracks, and gambling structures by removing their exemption from the Iowa Smokefree Air Act.

Sen. Tony Bisignano… pic.twitter.com/EJbZNuTIrB

— Iowa Pulse (@IowaPulse) January 27, 2026

The explanation included with the bill also noted that “The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.”

With the subcommittee recommending that the bill be indefinitely postponed, it’s unlikely to go anywhere this session unless lawmakers take extra steps to revive it.

The pause in Iowa comes as similar fights over smoking in casinos are playing out in other states. In New Jersey, casino workers saw new legal momentum this week in a long-running challenge to smoking on gambling floors. After a case was sent back to a trial court on remand, workers are getting another shot at overturning rules that still allow smoking in casinos.

Lobbyists and union leaders involved in the case argue that smoking should be banned anywhere employees are exposed to secondhand smoke. The group Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, or CEASE, along with union representatives, now has another opportunity to make its case at the trial court level after an earlier setback.

Featured image: Grok

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