Smoking Laws Continue to Kill Casino Gambling Biz

Once again, smoking bans placed by legislatures on state casinos have once again led directly to a decrease in gambling revenue. A bipartisan report by the Illinois legislature has determined that slumping business throughout the state gaming system is a result of laws forcing casinos to bar smoking on gaming floors.

Gambling revenues in Illinois reached a ten-year low, decreasing by almost five percent from last year, according to a study by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Among the state’s many gaming systems, declines at riverboat casinos comprise the largest part of the dropoff.

“The numbers continue to suggest that the biggest contributor to the drop in Illinois casino revenues is the indoor smoking ban,” states the report’s conclusion.

Although anti-smoking groups are seeking to find scapegoats to blame for the revenue loss, rather than accept responsibility for the casino losses, such excuses fail under examination. The defense that economic conditions contribute the major part of the decline’s causes falls apart when numbers from neighboring states which don’t ban smoking show steady or even growing numbers.

In fact, casinos in states such as Indiana and Iowa can celebrate the Illinois smoking laws, as they apparently have driven customers to cross state borders and bring revenue to other states.