A bill to ban smoking at Iowa casinos failed to advance out of a subcommittee in the Iowa Senate.
State-licensed casinos opposed the proposal, arguing it would lead to a loss of customers. A lobbyist for the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs told lawmakers the facility is already facing strong competition from smoke-free casinos in Nebraska and said legislators should allow adults to make their own decisions about smoking while gambling.
Sen. Dennis Guth of Klemme, the bill’s sponsor, said the role of government is to protect public health and that the legislation would have protected casino employees from secondhand smoke.
According to testimony during the subcommittee hearing, 20 states currently require all commercial casinos to be smoke-free.
