New litigation looms in New Jersey over casino smoking

An attempt to end the years-long exemption that allows indoor smoking on casino floors is yet again in focus in New Jersey with workers from Atlantic City casinos now filing a lawsuit against the state in a bid to force the state’s hand to act and close the loophole.

Following three years of mounting political support, efforts to push through a law that would have abolished casino indoor smoking have fallen flat, prompting a more determined response from the United Auto Workers, a union that represents workers from Caesars, Tropicana, and Bally’s casinos.

The lawsuit was filed with the Superior Court and petitions the high court to act in the case of indoor smoking, citing the state’s indoor clean air law which was introduced 18 years ago but allowed exemption of casino floors as, at the time, it was feared that should smokers be barred entry from gambling floors, revenues would decline.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to piggyback and travel on the back of cigar smoke has raised concerns about the health risks that smoking causes locally. This added to an already piling heap of evidence that suggested that workers in casinos exposed to second-hand smoke are likely to develop lung cancer.

An unlikely united front has emerged with workers pooling their efforts and demanding from legislators to act swiftly, and at the same time, evidence has started to appear that banning smoking from gaming floors would not in fact impact the economic footprint of casinos.

Yet fears about slow growth in the Garden State have stayed lawmakers’ hand, with many still treading cautiously, although ostensibly showing support for the matter. Borgata casino dealer Lamont White told the Associated Press that the workers have "gotten off their knees and stood up," taking matters into their own hands.

The casino industry in New Jersey has long shown jitters about the adverse impact a casino smoking ban could have on the casinos’ local economic footprint. Mark Giannantonio, the President of the Casino Association of New Jersey and of Resorts Casino, has long cautioned that acting too hastily in the matter could sap the economic momentum of the Garden State.

He and other casino specialists have said that much of the recovery the Garden State has experienced actually has to do with the fact that iGaming is bringing a lot of revenue, but this revenue is then split with third-party suppliers. The lawsuit also names Gov. Phil Murphy, whose office has failed to enact a law that addresses the matter. The saga is ongoing.

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