Smoke-free legislation and charitable gaming in Kentucky

Objective: To determine the effect of municipal smoke-free laws in Kentucky on gross and/or net revenues from charitable gaming activities. Between January 2000 and June 2007, 13 Kentucky communities implemented smoke-free legislation; only three specifically exempted charitable gaming facilities and compliance in several communities was not consistent. Kentucky is a tobacco-growing state that has the highest smoking rate in the United States. Design: A fixed-effects time series design to estimate the impact of municipal smoke-free laws on charitable gaming. Setting: 13 Kentucky counties that implemented smoke-free laws during the study period of January 2000 through June 2007. Subjects: All charitable gaming facilities in 13 counties in which a smoke-free ordinance was enacted during the study period. Main outcome measures: Gross and net revenues from charitable gaming activities in each county for each quarter of the study period, obtained from the Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming. Results: When controlling for economic variables, county-specific effects and time trends using a robust statistical framework, there was no significant relation between smoke-free laws and charitable gaming revenues. Municipal smoke-free legislation had no effect on charitable gaming revenues. Conclusions: No significant harm to charitable gaming revenues was associated with the smoke-free legislation during the 7.5-year study period, despite the fact that Kentucky is a tobacco-producing state with higher-than-average smoking rates.