The persistence of smoking in Atlantic Metropolis casinos has turn into a hot-button subject within the New Jersey capital. However a brand new ballot finds the general public usually opposes the trouble to extinguish indoor smoke on the 9 resorts.
A smoker gambles on a bar-top video poker machine. Atlantic Metropolis casinos proceed to permit indoor smoking, and a brand new ballot from Fairleigh Dickinson College in New Jersey finds most state residents wish to hold it that method. (Picture: Las Vegas Evaluate-Journal)
Fairleigh Dickinson College (FDU) not too long ago surveyed 801 grownup New Jersey residents at random. The objective was to gauge the place they stand on the continued allowance of tobacco smoke inside Atlantic Metropolis casinos.
Fifty-six p.c answered that they favor sustaining the established order. At present, every Atlantic Metropolis on line casino is allowed to designate as much as 25% of its gaming ground area for smoking. One other 12% of these polled mentioned they’d favor increasing smoking to permit smoking anyplace on the on line casino ground.
Meaning almost seven in 10 (68%) individuals assist sustaining or increasing indoor on line casino smoking in Atlantic Metropolis.
The FDU ballot discovered that solely 29% of probably voters in New Jersey would assist making the casinos go fully smoke-free. FDU mentioned the ballot’s margin of error is +/-3.5 proportion factors.
The place the citizens really stands isn’t clear. A Might ballot from Stockton College, one other faculty primarily based in New Jersey, discovered that 62% of New Jerseyans would assist a smoking ban inside casinos.
Query About Jobs, Well being
The casinos say forcing people who smoke to go outdoors to gentle up would end in lowered play, as these wanted timeouts would probably end in some gamblers calling it an evening. The On line casino Affiliation of New Jersey, the lobbying arm of the 9 Atlantic Metropolis properties, has warned that 2,500 jobs would presumably be reduce if smoking ended.
This can be a balancing act,” mentioned Dan Cassino, an FDU authorities and politics professor who oversees the college’s ballot. “Smoking bans shield staff from secondhand smoke, however nobody desires to threat hurting the casinos’ backside strains and having to bail out Atlantic Metropolis. Once more.”
Atlantic Metropolis’s governance has been beneath the state’s management since 2016. The takeover was designed to rein in runaway bills, excessive taxes, and poor governance that stemmed from 5 casinos closing between 2014 by means of October 2016.
Additionally, since 2016, New Jersey has allowed the remaining casinos to collectively pay an annual tax primarily based on their gross gaming revenues (GGR) as an alternative of a flat property tax. The casinos mentioned the property tax was far too excessive and primarily based on unrealistic property valuations after the gaming market crashed.
New Jersey lawmakers earlier this yr agreed to scale back the casinos’ payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) by eradicating iGaming and on-line sports activities betting from the tax calculation.
Grassroots Coalition Seeks Smoking Ban
A gaggle of on line casino staff who’ve had sufficient of working in smoke-filled areas united in 2021 to kind a company referred to as On line casino Staff In opposition to Smoking’s Results (CEASE). The advocacy is being supported by Individuals for Nonsmokers’ Rights, a nationwide lobbying group dedicated to defending nonsmokers from secondhand smoke publicity.
Their voices have been heard in Trenton. Lawmakers within the New Jersey Basic Meeting and Senate have lent their assist to items of laws that might finish the on line casino smoking loophole.
Meeting Invoice 2151 and Senate Invoice 264 have already got sufficient assist by the use of legislators co-sponsoring the measures to go of their respective chambers.
However neither piece of laws has even moved out of a committee. That has spurred rumors that the Democratic-controlled legislature is mothballing the matter till after the state’s crucial 2023 election.
