Jump to full article: (IL) State Journal-Register, 2009-08-15
Author: BRUCE RUSHTON THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Intro: Illinois casino lobbyists weren't blowing smoke when they said that a statewide smoking ban has cost the industry -- and government -- lots of money, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis have found.
They say state and local governments lost $200 million in taxes last year because of the ban.
That's more than a projected $150 million that state legislators hope to realize by privatizing lottery management and selling tickets online, and more than half of the $300 million in revenue the state projects could be raised by legalizing and taxing video poker.
Economists who studied casinos in Illinois and surrounding states found that attendance here went down by 9 percent while revenue plummeted by more than 20 percent, according to study results published last month in The Regional Economist, a federal reserve bank publication. . . .
After reviewing a copy of the study sent to her by The State Journal-Register, Drea via e-mail said that while there might be a revenue decline associated with fewer smokers in casinos, "it defies logic" to blame the smoking ban, as opposed to a tough economy, for plummeting revenue.
However, the study's authors said that neighboring states have also experienced hard times.
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