BISMARCK – The two-year-old state law banning indoor smoking from most workplaces has “killed the business” of bingo parlors, said a lawmaker who proposed exempting them from the ban.

The drop-off in bingo players because of the smoking ban has, in turn, deprived charities such as the North Dakota Association for the Disabled of the funds it needs to offer services to state residents with disabilities, Rep. Dwight Wrangham, R-Bismarck, told the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday.

“Let bingo hall operators decide” whether to allow smoking in their places, he argued in presenting House Bill 1353.

He said it’s easier for people who don’t smoke to avoid bingo parlors and other smoky areas than it is for smokers to quit the addictive habit.

But a Bismarck nursing school student who works as a bar-restaurant server testified against the bill. Kayla Gartner said employees in places that once allowed smoking have benefited from the 2005 law. She said she could immediately tell there was an improvement in her health.

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"You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" - Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs

I know that bingo halls are suffering due to the smoking ban, but I for one am glad that I do not have to suffer from passive smoking anymore in UK bingo halls

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I love online bingo, but I do play that little too much!

I didn't think it would be that much of a big deal. Bars still operate okay without smoking being allowed. It is much better for the people who work there and those who don't smoke if it is banned.

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Who likes online poker or online casinos?
"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."