Gambling and casino legislation efforts are in full swing around the country. Here are the top stories from last week about the gambling legislation around the country.
Iowa is one of the 16 states that allow indoor smoking in commercial casinos. Cigarettes and cigars can be lit in these casinos anywhere on the gaming floors, or at least in designated areas. That is about to change as the House study Bill 148, filed this month by Rep. Shannon Lundgren and co-sponsored by Rep. Sami Scheetz, was voted to progress forward by the House Commerce Committee.
The aim of this bill is to make an amendment to the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. This law was enacted in 2008 to protect Iowans from second hand smoke by banning smoking in public spaces, especially in the workplace. The act, however, did provide an exemption for licensed gaming facilities such as casinos. Bill 148 aims to close that loophole.
Rep. Shannon Lundgren is very optimistic about the bill’s approval, saying
“It is one of the reasons I ran”
Referring to her entry into politics from a background of casino lobbying. Lungren’s family are part owners of Trackside Bar & Grill. Both sponsors of the bill believe that the implementation of a smoking ban in casinos will protect the casino workers from secondhand smoke and help the casinos attract a non-smoking clientele.
However, the opponents of the bill argue that forcing Iowa casinos to implement a smoking ban will make Iowan casinos less attractive as compared to the casinos in Missouri, where indoor smoking is legal. This could be disastrous for the casino business in the state.
Hawaii is one of the two states, along with Utah, that have no legal forms of gambling. And it is going to stay this way in 2025 after the Senate Bill 893 was set aside by the Hawaii Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection. Bill 893 was filed by state Sen. Majority Leader Dru Kanuha, and proposed to allow the establishment of two casinos in the Aloha State. One at the Hawaii Convention Centre and the other in the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District.
The island state has never enjoyed local support for casinos. Residents and lawmakers are firmly against any legalization casino efforts. The bill faced intense opposition in the Senate committee. The scale of opposition to this bill was evident from the applause its rejection announcement received in the committee chamber.
The announcement was made by the Committee Chair Lynn DeCoite, who explained
“There was overwhelming opposition to this bill from the testifiers. For those who supported the bill, I considered and appreciated your points of view”
Although the casino bill was rejected, there is still hope for another bill to pass through. The Senate Bill 1569 aims to allow online sportsbooks with a tax imposition of 10% on all proceeds. The bill aims to legalize online sports betting and iGaming by defining them as not “gambling” or “games of chance”.
This bill was cleared in the Senate Economic Development and Technology Committee and it’s scheduled to be reviewed by the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. The specific bill to allow iGaming has not yet been picked for review.
If the above laws are passed, the state will enjoy a great source of income; however, passing this legislation is going to be an uphill battle for supporters of gambling in the state. Hawaiian gambling supporters believe that the politicians are being lobbied by the casino lobbies based in Maine, Nevada. Hawaii is a major source of clientele for the casinos in Las Vegas and there is a great interest in Nevada to make sure no competing casinos pop up on the Islands.
Nevada Rep. Dina Titus and Pennsylvania’s Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler filed the Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act of 2025 on Tuesday. The Act aims to get rid of the handle tax that is placed on all legal sports bets placed within the country. This 0.25% federal excise tax was introduced in 1951 as a measure to discourage illegal gambling, and has remained in place until now.
Nevada Rep. Dina Titus believes that this tax is not relevant to the current sports betting market, and is, in fact, contributing to the illegal sportsbook thriving around the country. Mainly because it puts the tax burden on the legal sportsbooks and the illegally operated ones do not pay this tax. Titus said
“The Act repeals a tax that does nothing except penalize legal gaming operators for creating thousands of jobs”
Reschenthaler argued that these outdated tax codes are penalizing legal operators while incentivizing the illegal sportsbook activity. Titus and Reschenthaler are co-chairs on the Congressional Gaming Caucus. They also represent the country’s highest sports betting income states, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The supporters of the abolition of this tax argue that the eradication of such taxes is essential in promoting legally regulated sports betting. As of now, the legal entities are unable to compete with the illegal sportsbook as they are unable to offer competitive odds or run attractive campaigns to attract bettors.
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Daniel Horvat 
February 22, 2025 
