Atlantic City Casino Smoking Opponents Say Tobacco Ban Would Help Responsible Play
Posted on: September 2, 2022, 12:38h. 
Final updated on: September two, 2022, 12:38h.
Atlantic City casino workers who want indoor smoking extinguished say a tobacco ban on the nine gaming floors would greater encourage accountable play.
“Casino Personnel Against Smoking’s Effects” (CEASE) is a growing coalition of Atlantic City casino workers who say state lawmakers and the casinos should value their overall health and private well-getting over earnings. CEASE members argue that they deserve the same clean indoor air workplaces afforded to most other staff.
New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke-Cost-free Air Act permits Atlantic City casinos to set aside up to 25% of their gaming space for indoor smoking.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) kicked off its very first-ever Responsible Gaming Education Month yesterday with the release of the lobbying group’s latest edition of the “Responsible Gaming Statutes and Regulations Guide.” CEASE claims that smoke-free of charge policies in Atlantic City would help many difficulty gamblers contact it quits for the duration of losing runs. The required smoke breaks, CEASE believes, would temporarily suspend their play and possibly lead to some deciding to walk away.
Regrettably, we frequently see far as well several guests betting cash they don’t have, trapped in cycles of gambling. This is specially true for guests who are allowed to smoke continuously even though playing,” mentioned Nicole Vitola, co-leader of CEASE.
“We know that if smokers must take breaks and step outdoors, they would be far greater off, as would the casino workers and table game dealers who are forced to breathe secondhand smoke,” Vitola added.
Smoking Ban a Win-Win, Group Claims
A cornerstone of responsible gaming is maintaining gambling exciting. Professionals say gambling ought to never ever be viewed as a way to make funds, but simply as a kind of entertainment not as opposed to getting a concert or film ticket. 
Chasing losses is one thing a lot of gamblers do, and anything each and every accountable gaming expert seeks to discourage. The need for a smoker to go outdoors when the craving hits, CEASE says, would lead to much more cooling-off periods for gamblers chasing losses. But it could also help these on winning streaks opt to quit although they’re ahead.
“As casino staff, we are often educated on sector best practices and serve as a very first point of get in touch with for advertising accountable gaming,” Vitola explained.
“The reality is that the market can and must do more to place action behind their words this month about how seriously they take this issue. It is completely hypocritical for the industry to take credit for promoting accountable gaming although they cling to antiquated smoking policies that trap guests into extended stretches of gambling and drastically influence the overall health and wellbeing of their complete workforce,” Vitola concluded.
Industry Response
The Atlantic City casino business, represented in the Trenton capital by the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), remains opposed to a cessation of indoor smoking. The casinos say banning cigarettes would put the properties at a competitive disadvantage with casinos in nearby Philadelphia where indoor smoking remains permissible in designated locations.
CANJ believes a smoking ban would hurt gaming revenue by as much as 25% and result in upwards of two,500 job losses.
The casinos have been dealt a undesirable hand earlier this week after New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael Blee tossed out the resorts’ amended home tax agreement with the state that would have saved the nine properties $55 million this year alone. Blee ruled that the state wrongly gave preferential tax remedy to the casinos.