Riverboat Exemption for Smoking Ban Defeated

Add comment April 16th, 2008

The Senate is holding a marathon session tonight. It’s just after 10 p.m., and it just adjourned.

Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson was just handed an overwhelming defeat, when his attempt to allow patrons to smoke on the state’s riverboat casinos. This would have amended the statewide indoor smoking ban, which began in January.

Watson, R-Greenville, argued that riverboat revenues have slumped since January, which coincided with the Smoke-Free Illinois Act. The state counts on the money from the casinos as part of its General Revenue Fund. He pointed to Iowa, which passed a similar indoor smoking ban, but excluded casinos.

The Legislature’s Commission for Government Forecasting and Accountability tends to agree:

Several factors are likely contributing to this turnaround in riverboat figures. The struggling econmy along with the higher motor fuel prices are likely lowering the amount of income that consumers feel that they can afford to spend on gambling. In addition, the 2007-2008 winter season has been particularly harsh, producing several weekend storms that likely prevented gaming during normally busy weekend periods. However, it appears that the biggest factor that may be affecting Illinois casinos is the statewide smoking ban that went into effect on January 1, 2008.

You can read the full report here. (Start on page 9.)

Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, argued that the economy is bad and that is why casinos across the nation are seeing their numbers slide.

In the end, Watson lost his bid, receiving only 15 yes votes.