You can smoke inside most Indiana casinos, but only in designated smoking areas. Indiana’s statewide smoke-free air law bans smoking in public places and workplaces, and it took effect on July 1, 2012, but it carves out a specific exemption for licensed gambling facilities. That exemption is why smoking in Indiana casinos is still common: of the state’s roughly 18 gaming establishments, only a handful have gone fully smoke-free indoors.
Which Indiana Casinos Still Allow Smoking
Most of them. The commercial casinos in East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Lawrenceburg, Michigan City, Indianapolis, Shelbyville, and other host communities continue to permit smoking in designated areas under the state exemption.
The exceptions are worth knowing before you drive:
- French Lick Resort and Casino adopted a voluntary smoke-free indoor policy.
- Hard Rock Casino in Terre Haute was announced as planning to open smoke-free, in line with the city’s existing local ordinance.
- Four Winds Casino in South Bend, operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, is smoke-free under tribal policy.
Policies can change, especially as more local governments weigh stricter ordinances. If a specific property matters to your plans, call ahead or check the casino’s own website.
What a Designated Smoking Area Has to Look Like
A casino can’t just rope off a corner. Indiana law sets conditions designed to keep smoke from drifting into the rest of the building.
- The area must be physically enclosed and separated from non-smoking spaces so smoke doesn’t migrate.
- It needs adequate ventilation. ASHRAE industry standards recommend that air from smoking areas not be recirculated into smoke-free zones, and that local mechanical exhaust be used with no recirculation, particularly in gambling environments.
- It must sit at least 20 feet from any entrance to the facility.
- No one under 21 is permitted inside a designated smoking area.
- The casino must post conspicuous signs at public entrances indicating that smoking is allowed inside.
The age rule lines up neatly with Indiana’s minimum gambling age of 21, so for most patrons on the casino floor it won’t come up. But a person under 21 who is at the property for a non-gambling reason still can’t step into the smoking section.
Where You Still Can’t Smoke Inside a Smoking Casino
Even at a casino that allows smoking, the exemption only reaches the designated area. The rest of the building stays under the statewide ban. That means restaurants, bars that aren’t part of a designated smoking area, restrooms, lobbies, and other common spaces are off-limits for lighting up. The main gaming floor is also smoke-free unless a portion of it has been formally designated and built out as a compliant smoking area.
Casinos must post “no smoking” signs in the prohibited areas and are responsible for stopping or removing anyone who lights up outside a designated zone.
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 in that definition. Because the law targets “lighted tobacco smoking equipment,” e-cigarettes fall outside its reach.
That doesn’t mean every casino allows vaping. Individual properties can prohibit it through house rules, and many do. The state statute simply doesn’t require them to.
Tribal Casinos Follow Their Own Rules
Indiana’s state smoking law does not automatically apply to tribal casinos. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, federally recognized tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming on their own lands, provided the gaming isn’t prohibited by federal law and the state permits that class of gaming. Smoking policy falls within the tribe’s authority, not the state’s.
So a tribal casino’s smoking rules are whatever the tribe decides. The Pokagon Band chose smoke-free at Four Winds in South Bend. A different tribe could choose differently. Don’t assume a tribal casino follows the same rules as a state-licensed property down the road.
Local Ordinances Can Override the Exemption
Indiana’s smoke-free air law does not stop cities and counties from passing stricter ordinances. If a local law covers more workplaces or public spaces than the state law, the local law stays in effect. If it’s weaker, the state law prevails.
For casinos, this is how the exemption can effectively disappear inside city limits. Terre Haute’s smoke-free law shaped Hard Rock Casino’s decision to open without smoking. Communities including Shelbyville and Evansville have considered similar measures, though coordinated efforts haven’t always succeeded. A casino’s smoking policy can depend as much on the city it sits in as on the state exemption.
Penalties If You Smoke Where You Shouldn’t
Smoking violations in Indiana are infractions, not crimes, but the fines reach $1,000 per violation. An individual who lights up in a non-smoking area can be fined up to $1,000. A business that fails to post required signs, fails to stop or remove someone smoking in a prohibited area, leaves ashtrays in smoke-free spaces, or doesn’t inform employees of the ban can be fined up to $1,000 for each of those failures. The penalties apply per violation, so a single incident can produce more than one fine.