The issue of smoking in casinos has been a topic of debate for many years. The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation has a list of properties where smoking is banned. On the list are just over a thousand smoke-free locations. Some states have multiple properties that ban smoking. The list includes nearly 200 tribal properties that operate smoke-free by their own sovereign policy.
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Smoke-free casinos
There are 10 states in which casinos are 100% smoke-free. Colorado has 43 casinos that ban smoking, and Illinois has 36. Connecticut and Ohio have 15 and 16 casinos, respectively, that ban smoking. Maryland has 11 smoke-free casinos, and Alaska has seven. Massachusetts has five smoke-free casinos, and Delaware, Texas, and North Carolina all have three.
In Montana, 95% of the 198 casinos are smoke-free, and in New York, 94% of the 164 casinos are smoke-free.
In Michigan, 86% of casinos are smoke-free. This includes Gun Lake Casino, which is a tribal property that also has an online arm called Play Gun Lake.
In all the other states, 80% or fewer of the casinos have smoking bans. Kansas and New Jersey don’t have any smoke-free casinos. Neither do Missouri, Rhode Island, or Virginia.
Per capita non-smoking leader
The state with the highest population, California, has 108 gaming properties where smokers can’t light up. Wyoming, which is home to fewer than 600,000 people, has three smoke-free properties. Montana, with a population of 1.06 million, has 198 smoke-free gaming sites, so it’s the leader. Apart from family vacation essentials like spacious suitcases, travelers today are often concerned about clean air, and Montana may be the place to go.
Revenue declines versus respiratory risks
On one side of the smoking debate are gaming executives who believe that banning smoking will result in a loss of revenue and force employee layoffs. Various operators say it’s an irrefutable fact that slot machines in smoking areas make more money than those in non-smoking areas. Some reports examining the impact of smoking bans on casino revenue show that it could decline. This could affect public service organizations that benefit from gaming tax revenue.
On the other side of the debate are casino workers and customers who fear the health hazards of consuming secondhand smoke. According to the CDC, tobacco smoke contains many toxic chemicals, including about 70 that can cause cancer.
Las Vegas Casinos
In Las Vegas, Park MGM is one of the busiest resorts, and it put a smoking ban in place in 2020 that’s still in effect today. It is also banned at NoMad Las Vegas, a ‘hotel-within-a-hotel’ at Park MGM. Park MGM is the only fully smoke-free casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the gaming properties in Nevada allow smoking, although it is banned in the slots area at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
Shareholders want to study the financial impacts of banning smoking because it is becoming evident that about two-thirds of registered Nevada voters favor smoke-free casino policies. This was the finding of a poll conducted in 2024 by the Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-Free Coalition.
Legislation to protect casino workers’ health
Health advocates have been urging lawmakers to take action. Many studies show how smoking kills and the effects of tobacco on the lungs. Studies also show that ventilation systems don’t completely eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.
In New Jersey, legislation is being considered that would ban smoking in Atlantic City resorts. Casinos in other states are banning smoking even if it isn’t mandatory. A trend in gambling is moving towards being smoke-free by law and by choice. This is being driven by socially conscious investors and customers. They expect brands to put the health and safety of their employees first. There’s still a long way to go, but progress is being made.
After the pandemic, when mask mandates were lifted, various casinos kept smoking prohibitions in place. One of these properties was Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It successfully pushed smoking out of the building at no economic cost. In some cases, non-smoking casinos are performing even better than their counterparts that allow smoking.
