Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), an organization of casino employees that have come together to put an end to smoking inside casinos, thinks that if venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey, become smoke-free, this will be a great way to boost visitor numbers.
CEASE Calls for a Smoking Ban in Atlantic City Casinos
According to CEASE co-founder and table game dealer Pete Naccarelli, if casino executives want to bring people who are staying home back to Atlantic City casinos, they should improve the in-person experience by eliminating indoor smoking. His comments come after the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA) raised serious concerns about Atlantic City’s future, warning that more than 8,000 casino jobs could be at risk. The nonprofit economic development organization identified the growth of online gambling and the three downstate New York City casinos as the greatest threats to Atlantic City’s casino industry.
Naccarelli urged state lawmakers to reject the casino industry’s continued lobbying against legislation that would give casino workers the right to smoke-free workplaces. He argued that if the casino industry were genuinely concerned about attracting visitors to its brick-and-mortar properties, as well as protecting its employees, there is a simple step it could take: eliminate indoor smoking.
Calls for ending smoking in casinos aren’t anything new. Back in 2022 and 2023, legislation to amend the 2006 New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act and eliminate the tobacco exemption for Atlantic City casinos garnered enough support in both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature.
During the 2022–23 legislative session, Senate Bill 264 was sponsored by 23 of the state’s 40 senators. Meanwhile, its companion legislation, Assembly Bill 2151, had the backing of 56 members of the 80-seat Assembly. Despite receiving bipartisan support, neither bill was brought to a vote.
New Jersey isn’t the only state that’s had difficulties banning indoor smoking in casinos. For example, earlier this year, a similar bill to ban smoking failed in Kansas, while other states’ legislation is still lagging behind.
What Are the Casinos’ Concerns?
Many casinos argue that banning indoor smoking might estrange customers from visiting. Back in 2022, the Casino Association of New Jersey commissioned Spectrum Gaming, a highly regarded US gaming industry research firm, to examine the potential impact of a smoking ban.
According to the study, a full smoking ban could lead to an almost 11% decline in brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue during the first year of implementation. Spectrum also estimated that the resulting decrease in casino revenue could reduce gaming tax collections by as much as $44 million and result in up to 2,500 job losses.
However, critics of the study argue this isn’t as clear-cut as it initially seems. Dr. Geoff Atkinson, senior marketing research manager at Management Science Associates, a Spectrum affiliate, is one of these critics. During a 2025 webinar on casino smoking, he said the evidence does not clearly indicate that allowing smoking or going smoke-free provides a significant advantage or disadvantage.
In other news from Atlantic City, Bally’s casino now has a new president in the face of Tom Pohlman, who previously led Golden Nugget Atlantic City and was the city’s longest-tenured casino general manager when he stepped down earlier this year.