CEASE renews call for smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos

The casino workers’ organisation argues that eliminating indoor smoking could help bring visitors back to Atlantic City’s brick-and-mortar casinos.

US.- Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) is again calling on New Jersey lawmakers to end indoor smoking at Atlantic City casinos. It argues that smoke-free venues could help improve the gaming experience and attract visitors.

CEASE co-founder and table game dealer Pete Naccarelli said casino executives should support a smoking ban if they want to bring back customers who have shifted away from physical casinos. His comments follow a warning from the Atlantic County Economic Alliance that more than 8,000 casino jobs could be at risk, with online gambling and the three planned downstate New York casinos identified as major threats.

Naccarelli urged lawmakers to reject continued industry opposition to legislation that would give casino employees smoke-free workplaces. He argued that eliminating indoor smoking would address both employee health concerns and the need to make Atlantic City casinos more attractive to visitors.

Previous legislation failed to reach a vote

Efforts to remove the casino exemption from New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act gained significant bipartisan support during the 2022–23 legislative session. Senate Bill 264 had 23 sponsors in the 40-member Senate, while Assembly Bill 2151 was backed by 56 of the 80 Assembly members, but neither measure reached a vote.

Casino operators have argued that a smoking ban could drive customers away. A 2022 study commissioned by the Casino Association of New Jersey and conducted by Spectrum Gaming estimated that a complete ban could reduce brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue by almost 11 per cent in its first year, potentially cutting gaming tax collections by up to US$ 44 m and resulting in as many as 2,500 job losses.