An anti-smoking organization has urged Nevada gambling regulators – and regulators in a dozen other states – to consider banning smoking in casinos.
But Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is not taking the usual health angle. Instead, ANR is appealing to the state’s concern for responsible gambling.
Key Highlights
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights says banning smoking will help with responsible gambling
- When people take a smoke break, they are also taking a break from gambling
- Park MGM is the only smoke-free casino on the Las Vegas Strip
- Casino workers in New Jersey have been fighting for a casino smoking ban
Take a Break
In a letter to Jennifer Togliatti, chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission, ANR pointed out that September is Responsible Gaming Education Month, “applauding” the industry’s commitment to responsible gaming.
It went on to say, though, that by allowing smoking on the casino floor, casinos are “encouraging addictive behavior as well as prolonged gambling sessions without taking breaks.”
The thrust of the argument is that smokers would be more prone to take breaks from the gaming tables or slot machines to go outside and smoke if they are not permitted to smoke indoors. This, in turn, would decrease the incidences of problem gambling.
Their argument that a casino will make more money if smokers remain at their games is the antithesis of one of the principles of responsible gaming.
– Study from the Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming Group
ANR’s letter cites a 2022 study from C3 Gaming which said that the Casino Association of New Jersey estimates revenue losses if smokers must take breaks, “which is the antithesis of one of the principles of responsible gaming.”
“In other words, they chose to play responsibly, and taking a periodic smoking break allowed them to do so,” the report said.
Park MGM Stands Alone
When Las Vegas casinos were prepared to reopen after the COVID-19 closures, there was hope that some might go smoke-free.
Not only would eliminating smoking have the obvious health benefit of removing secondhand smoke from the casino environment, but it would also lower the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
But as it turned out, Park MGM was the only Las Vegas Strip casino to institute a no-smoking policy after it reopened in September 2020.
Aside from general health, the idea behind the move was to attract customers who wanted a smoke-free environment, something that they could not otherwise find on the Strip.
The US Department of Health and Human Services published a study in June 2024 that compared the air quality at Park MGM to that of the other casinos on the Strip. Researchers measured particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), which they counted as a “surrogate” for secondhand smoke.
In the gaming areas of the eight casinos on the Strip where smoking is permitted, PM2.5 levels were 5.4 times higher than at Park MGM. The levels were still almost twice as high in comparable areas where smoking is prohibited.
Ongoing Fight in New Jersey
Casino workers in New Jersey have been fighting for a smoking ban for years.
Smoking is banned by law in most indoor public areas, but casinos are the exception in the state, as the practice is still allowed on 25% of the casino floor.
The refrain from many workers is that they are forced to stand and inhale secondhand smoke politely for hours every day, with no ability to shield themselves from it other than quitting their jobs. Some have been inflicted with respiratory illnesses and cancer, thought to be a consequence of years of secondhand smoke.
State lawmakers introduced a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos last year – a bill which had the support of more than half the legislature – but one senator pulled his support at the last minute and it never got to a vote.
In April of this year, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which represents workers at Bally’s, Caesars, and Tropicana, along with other casino employee groups, filed a lawsuit to try to close the loophole that still allows smoking on a portion of the casino floor in Atlantic City.
In late August, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that secondhand smoke did not “intrude upon a person’s right to pursue safety.” In other words, the judge said there are plenty of smoke-free environments available in Atlantic City and New Jersey, and people are free to work elsewhere.
Sources
https://no-smoke.org/in-open-letters-to-policymakers-public-health-advocates-call-for-examination-into-the-link-between-problem-gambling-and-indoor-smoking-in-casinos/
https://mcusercontent.com/19edafc015534616868e68b9d/files/b3ecfdfe-cd8c-6a2e-6110-2c1db4a366b7/ANR_Letter_to_Nevada_Gaming_Commission.01.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10998699/
