House Votes to Lift Casino Smoking Ban

The Illinois House wants to lift the ban on smoking at riverboat casinos that border states where smoking is allowed.

The bill -- HB1965 -- passed 62-52 Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate.

Rep. Daniel Burke said he sponsored the measure because Illinois is losing business to states that allow smoking at casinos. The Chicago democrat claims casinos have lost $800 million since 2008 because gamblers go to Iowa, Indiana or Missouri casinos.

"Ladies and gentleman, if we’re serious about our budget crisis in Illinois, let’s be real. This is not about the smoking issue. This is about the money,” said Burke.

Burke said casinos have improved air filtration systems, reducing the health concerns from smoking.

Supporters of the smoking ban say it's unfair to subject gamblers and casino employees to second-hand smoke.

“It’s a slippery slope,” said Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood), who was the chief House sponsor of the 2008 anti-smoking law.  "Why are their lives any less important than people who work anywhere else?"

“I didn’t hear any debate about what kind of increased costs in terms of hospitals and health care costs as a result of going back to what we did before. I hear the argument on one side about this about the money, but we’ll spend more if we allow this practice,” she added.

A report by the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability characterized the indoor smoking ban as “the biggest contributor” behind a 28 percent decline in casino revenues since January 2008.

That 2010 report also noted casino revenues for Chicago-area casinos dropped by nearly 33 percent since the smoking ban was implemented, while gambling receipts for four neighboring Indiana border casinos fell only .4 percent during the same period.

"We have to provide these legitimate business enterprises a competitive playing field," Burke said.