You can smoke inside most Indiana casinos, but only in designated smoking areas that meet state requirements. Indiana’s statewide smoke-free air law took effect on July 1, 2012, and it bans smoking in public places and workplaces across the state. Licensed gambling facilities got a specific carve-out, and the majority of Indiana’s commercial casinos use it. A small number of properties have voluntarily gone entirely smoke-free indoors.
The Casino Exemption in Indiana’s Smoke-Free Law
Indiana Code 7.1-5-12 prohibits smoking in enclosed public spaces and places of employment. Section 5 of that chapter lists exceptions, and gambling facilities are on the list. Horse racing venues, riverboat casinos, and establishments holding a gambling games license all qualify.
The exemption is conditional, not open-ended. A casino that allows smoking has to confine it to a designated area that meets specific statutory requirements. Everything outside that area is treated the same as any other public building in the state.
What a Designated Smoking Area Has to Look Like
A casino cannot simply rope off a corner. Under the law, a designated smoking area must be:
- Physically separated from non-smoking spaces so that smoke does not migrate.
- Adequately ventilated. ASHRAE guidance for gambling environments recommends local mechanical exhaust with no recirculation of air from smoking areas into smoke-free zones.
- Located at least 20 feet from any entrance to the facility.
- Off-limits to anyone under 21.
- Marked with conspicuous signs at public entrances stating that smoking is permitted inside.
Indiana’s minimum gambling age is 21, so the age rule for the smoking section lines up with the gaming floor itself. Even so, anyone under 21 on the property for another reason cannot enter the smoking area.
Where You Cannot Smoke Inside an Indiana Casino
Even in properties that permit smoking, most of the building is smoke-free. Restaurants, bars that are not part of a designated smoking area, restrooms, lobbies, and general common spaces all fall under the statewide ban. The main gaming floor is also smoke-free unless a portion of it has been formally designated and built out to comply with the requirements above.
Casinos have to post “no smoking” signs in prohibited areas and are responsible for stopping or removing anyone who lights up outside a designated zone. That is why staff will approach a patron smoking at the wrong slot bank rather than let it slide.
What About Vaping?
Indiana’s statute defines smoking as carrying or holding a lit cigarette, cigar, pipe, or other lighted tobacco equipment, and inhaling or exhaling the smoke from it. Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are not covered, because the law targets “lighted tobacco smoking equipment.” That leaves vaping to house rules. Many casinos ban it on their own, but the state statute does not require them to.
Which Indiana Casinos Are Smoke-Free
Of the roughly 18 gaming establishments in the state, only a handful are fully smoke-free indoors. French Lick Resort and Casino adopted a voluntary smoke-free indoor policy. Hard Rock Casino in Terre Haute was announced as opening smoke-free to comply with the city’s local ordinance. Four Winds Casino in South Bend, a tribal property, operates smoke-free under its own sovereign policy.
The rest of the state’s commercial casinos, in communities including East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Lawrenceburg, Michigan City, Indianapolis, and Shelbyville, continue to allow smoking in designated areas. Policies can change, and more local governments have been weighing stricter ordinances, so calling the property or checking its website before a visit is the most reliable way to confirm.
Tribal Casinos Set Their Own Policy
Indiana’s state smoking law does not automatically apply on tribal land. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, federally recognized tribes regulate gaming on their own lands, as long as the activity is not specifically prohibited by federal law and the state permits that class of gaming. Smoking policy sits with the tribe.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, which operates Four Winds South Bend, chose to go smoke-free. That is a tribal decision, not a state requirement. A different tribe operating a casino in Indiana could set an entirely different rule, so do not assume a tribal casino matches the state-licensed property down the road.
Cities and Counties Can Be Stricter Than the State
The state smoke-free air law does not stop local governments from going further. If a city or county ordinance covers more workplaces or public spaces than the state law, the local rule controls. A weaker local rule loses to the state law.
For casinos, that means a comprehensive local smoke-free ordinance can effectively erase the casino carve-out inside city limits. Terre Haute’s ordinance shaped the Hard Rock Casino’s smoke-free opening. Other communities, including Shelbyville and Evansville, have considered similar measures, though those efforts have not always succeeded. A casino’s smoking policy can end up depending as much on its city as on the state exemption.
Penalties If You Smoke Where You Shouldn’t
Smoking violations in Indiana are infractions rather than criminal offenses, but the fines are meaningful. An individual who smokes in a non-smoking area can be fined up to $1,000 per violation. Businesses face their own separate fines, up to $1,000 each, for failing to post required signs, failing to enforce the ban, leaving ashtrays in smoke-free areas, or failing to inform employees about the rules. Those business-side penalties are part of why casino staff intervene quickly when someone lights up outside a designated area.
The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission is the primary enforcement agency, and the Indiana Department of Health, local health departments, the Division of Fire and Building Safety, and law enforcement officers can also enforce the law. In practice, enforcement tends to be complaint-driven rather than based on routine inspections.