In the midst of a fresh drive to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos, a new analysis issued Wednesday estimates that doing so may lose up to 2,500 casino jobs and roughly 11% of revenue as the city's casinos try to recover from the coronavirus outbreak.
The analysis was created by Spectrum Gaming Group, an independent gaming research organization, which backs up casinos' long-held position that banning smoking would harm their business, deprive New Jersey of tax money, and put thousands of people out of employment.
Atlantic City Casino Smoking Ban May Cause of 2,500 Job Losses
The study was panned by a coalition of casino employees and anti-smoking activists, who said it put profits ahead of the health of staff and guests. They also claimed that it failed to consider what would happen in following years when guests get accustomed to the smoking prohibition, noting the success of several tribal casinos.
The analysis was commissioned by the Casino Association of New Jersey, but it did not make a recommendation on whether smoking should be outlawed, an option that is getting fresh support in the state Legislature. New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, has stated that if a bill is enacted, he will sign it into law.
It discovered, among other things, that smokers, who make up 21% of Atlantic City gamblers, are more valuable to casinos than non-smokers because they lose more money and spend more on non-gambling products, according to CBS News.
Atlantic City "faces some very dire issues," according to Joe Lupo, president of the casino association and owner of the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City. He said casino employment and visitation are both at 20-year lows, and in-person gambling revenue has yet to return to pre-COVID levels, down 5% in 2021 compared to 2019.
According to Lupo, Atlantic City casino officials will meet with the governor this week to discuss their concerns. In Atlantic City, smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor. The casinos argue that prohibiting smoking will drive smokers to Pennsylvania, where several casinos allow it.
For more than a year, a group of Atlantic City casino employees has been pushing for New Jersey to close the loophole in its public smoking law that allows it to continue in casinos even though it is prohibited in most other indoor spaces, with the help of national non-smoking organizations.
Despite the millions of dollars spent on filters and air purification technologies by casinos, they complain of suffering respiratory diseases and other problems from smoking secondhand smoke.
Smoking Ban Reintroduced in New Jersey This Year
Last year's legislation to ban casino smoking failed, but it has been resurrected this year with bipartisan backing, including from a former governor, Democratic state Sen. Richard Codey.
In 2008, Atlantic City prohibited smoking for four weeks; but after being disappointed with the results, it was swiftly reinstated to its existing 25% level. Casino earnings dropped by 19.5 percent in the first week after the prohibition, according to casino employees union representatives, and state authorities, as per Daily Mail.
According to the analysis, between 1,021 and 2,512 employment might be lost in Atlantic City in the first year of a smoking ban. According to Spectrum, each casino employee was funded by $155,008 in gaming revenue in 2019. They also spoke with casino executives, employees, and customers, as well as anti-smoking advocacy groups, and looked into the experiences of other states that have prohibited casino smoking.
If smoking is outlawed, the research estimates that 10% of Atlantic City's casino workers will lose their employment. It also discovered that a smoking ban would reduce non-gambling income by up to $93 million, or 6.5 percent, and tax collection by up to 44 percent.
Non-smoking clients would be more inclined to visit casinos if smoking was prohibited, according to the survey. However, the increased money would not be enough to compensate for a drop in overall gaming revenue, according to the analysis.
It does not anticipate all smokers to cease visiting the casinos in Atlantic City if smoking is prohibited. According to the research, about 13% of smokers would still visit casinos, and they also have the option of gambling online, ABC News reported.
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