Smoking in NJ Casinos: The Battle Between Casino Workers & Gaming Operators Continues

On August 31st a New Jersey judge ruled that smoking will continue in Atlantic City, setting back casino workers 2 year-long effort to ban smoking in the gaming towns' casino floors. 

Currently, smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City however, these areas don’t have to be contiguous.

Casino workers have argued that chronic exposure to secondhand smoke has caused them stress and health issues including cancer, asthma, and heart disease. 

At least one worker, who did not smoke, died as a result of a disease typically related to smoking, according to court documents.

In 2022 casino workers pushed for passage of Bill S264 which was introduced in the state Senate, but has been stalled since. 

However, New Jersey gaming operators have long pushed back against a total smoking ban, citing that such a move would shrink revenues by almost 11 percent and lead to job losses within Atlantic City (and by extension South Jersey).

They have also argued that a total ban would further dampen the New Jersey gaming industries' slow recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of competition from new casinos in New York.

The fight against smoking in New Jersey casinos is not over though, as last week the group Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects filed an appeal against the August ruling. 

If you need to stay updated on gaming-related regulations and legislation, email the PoliciPro team at contact@policipro.com.