The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) commissioned a report on the potential impact of a smoking ban in Atlantic City’s nine gaming halls. The results seemed to confirm the industry’s worst fears.
The report prepared by Spectrum Gaming Group predicts a loss of as many as 2,500 jobs and almost 11 percent in revenue if smoking is banned. With the industry still trying to recover from Covid, the CANJ has some concerns over the ban. According to the Associated Press, some casino workers and smoking opponents say the industry is putting profits over the health of employees and patrons.
CANJ President Joe Lupo said employment and visitation to Atlantic City are both at 20-year lows, and in-person gambling revenue has yet to return to pre-Covid levels. “Now is not the time to enact a smoking ban,” he said, adding that doing so “could cause a devastating effect to the community and state.”
Nicole Vitola, a Borgata dealer and a supporter of a smoking ban, said workers “cannot continue to choose between our health and a paycheck. Casinos’ blatant disregard for our well-being is disgraceful, especially after they just received tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks from the state.”
The group Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights cited a July tribal gambling conference in Las Vegas at which panelists reported that revenue lost during the first year of smoking bans rebounded.
They also mentioned a comment last fall from Bill Miller, president of the American Gaming Association, that some casinos have enacted smoking bans “without detrimental effects.”
In putting together its report, Spectrum interviewed casino executives, workers, and customers, as well as anti-smoking advocacy groups, and studied the experience of other states that have banned casino smoking.
The study fails to account for the typical rebound in revenue and jobs that occurs after one year of going smokefree, a pro-ban group said in a statement. “Second, the gaming industry fails to account for the current employment numbers that are far below pre-pandemic levels and how casinos have become accustomed to operating with fewer workers. Finally, the report presumes Pennsylvania casinos will permit smoking, but Parx Casino, the state’s top revenue generator, and several others, have voluntarily adopted a smokefree indoor policy.”
Other findings revealed that smokers, who make up 21 percent of gamblers, lose more money and spend more on non-gambling items than non-smokers. It also found that with a smoking ban, non-gambling revenue would fall by up to $93 million, or 6.5 percent, and tax revenue would fall by up to 44 percent.
While the report said some non-smoking patrons would visit casinos if smoking was banned it would not be enough to avoid a decline. About 13 percent of smokers would still visit casinos, according to the report, and they also have the option of gambling online.
Lupo, a featured speaker at a public relations council lunch in Atlantic City, said: “I don’t believe that 30 people walking down the boardwalk represent the 21,000 employees.”
The comment brought rebuttals from CEASE, the local anti-smoking group, according to InsiderNJ.
“Joe Lupo should not be mocking casino employees who simply want a safe workplace. Whether it’s 30 workers or the thousands who have joined CEASE, we deserve respect and a voice in our own health and safety,” said Pete Naccarelli, co-founder of CEASE.
“Those 30 employees walking down the boardwalk’ have built a robust, broad, and bipartisan coalition. He is on the wrong side of history.”
