The impact of a local smoke-free air law on wagering at an off-track betting facility in Indiana
- 1Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
- 2Department of Statistics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
- Correspondence to Jonathan T Macy, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Indiana University, 1025 East 7th Street, HPER 116, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; jtmacy{at}indiana.edu
- Received 17 November 2010
- Accepted 22 February 2011
- Published Online First 22 March 2011
Abstract
Objective This study measured the impact of a local smoke-free air law on wagering at an off-track betting (OTB) facility in Indiana.
Methods Regression analysis was used to compare the trend in per capita amount wagered at an OTB location that went smoke-free to the trend in per capita amount wagered at two comparison OTB locations that continued to permit smoking. Unemployment rate was included as a covariate.
Results During the study period, there was a decreasing trend in the per capita amount wagered at each of the three OTB locations. There was no significant change in the trend for the location that went smoke free or for the locations where smoking has continued.
Conclusions There is no economic reason to exclude OTB facilities from smoke-free legislation.
Footnotes
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Competing interests None.
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Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
