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Smoke-free casinos bill promptly snuffed out by Iowa lawmakers
In a rare legislative move, the proposal to repeal Iowa casinos’ exemption from the state’s public smoking ban was not advanced after an initial hearing on the bill
Jan. 26, 2026 4:48 pm
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DES MOINES — A legislative proposal to require casinos to comply with the state’s public smoking ban was defeated Monday when one Democratic and one Republican state lawmaker declined to support the bill.
The legislation would have struck casinos’ exemption from the state’s public smoking ban. That exemption allows state-licensed casinos to permit smoking in their facilities.
But the bill, sought by cancer awareness and public health advocates, was defeated Monday at the Iowa Capitol after a subcommittee hearing — the first step in Iowa’s state lawmaking process — when only one state lawmaker on a three-member panel supported it.
Iowa Sen. Dennis Guth, a Republican from Klemme who chaired the subcommittee hearing, expressed support for the bill, Senate File 2051. But Sens. Dawn Driscoll, a Republican from Williamsburg, and Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, declined to support the bill.
It is rare in the Iowa Legislature for a bill to be scheduled for a subcommittee hearing only to be defeated.
Similar bills have been introduced in past legislative sessions. None has garnered enough support among lawmakers to be passed into law.
Nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking or secondhand smoke exposure, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends all casinos be 100 percent smoke-free.
Twenty states require 100 percent smoke-free gambling venues, according to information compiled by the American Cancer Society.
Bisignano said he supports the goal of making Iowa casinos smoke-free, but could not support the legislation because he does not believe it has a chance of passing into law this year, and because he feels casinos — including those that are on Native American territory and thus not governed by state law — should be more involved in the discussion.
Bisignano is a member of the board of directors for Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona.
“Smoking has got to be banned. I don’t think this year it’s possible, but I do think that casinos need to be prepared and in the discussion. I do think we need to also have discussions with those that maybe state law doesn’t cover, to look at it in a bigger picture of public health,” Bisignano. “So being that I have the time and experience in the gambling industry, I would be happy to start that discussion. But I don’t think today’s the day to pass that. …
“I know there’s people disappointed today. I’m disappointed today. But the time is not right to just force it out as any other bill.”
Among those likely disappointed are the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Iowa Public Health Association, Iowa Behavioral Health Association, and Clean Air for Everyone: representatives of each organization spoke at Monday’s hearing in support of the legislation.
Many of those speakers noted Iowa’s high cancer rates — the state has the country’s second-highest cancer rate and the only in the country that is rising.
“If Iowa’s serious about addressing our high cancer rates, tobacco control needs to be a part of that equation,” Jackie Cale, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, said in public comment on the bill during Monday’s hearing.
In 2008, the state passed a ban on public smoking, including at bars and restaurants. But casinos were exempted from the law, allowing them to continue permitting smoking.
Multiple lobbyists for casinos and casino groups in Iowa spoke at Monday’s hearing, arguing that a ban on smoking in casinos would put the state’s casinos at a competitive disadvantage against casinos in other states or that are not subject to Iowa’s laws.
Casino companies and the Iowa Gaming Association, the organization that advocates for the 19 state-licensed casinos, are the only groups registered in opposition to the bill, according to state lobbying records.
Cedar Crossing, a $250 million casino and convention center being built in downtown Cedar Rapids, will become the state’s 20th licensed casino once it is complete — which is scheduled for late 2026.
Casino representatives expressed concern for a potential negative economic impact if they are required to ban smoking, but Guth said the government’s primary concern should be the well-being of citizens, not economic development.
“The role of government is to protect its citizens, to protect its freedoms. It’s not about economic development,” Guth said. “We certainly want to do that when we can, but we should never put that second to health.”
A similar bill considered last year in the Iowa House was approved by the Iowa House Commerce Committee, but was not called up for debate by the full House.
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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