Smoke-Free Casino Advocates Call on Prominent Gaming Consultancy to Retract 2022 Report
Posted on: May 22, 2025, 08:49h.
Last updated on: May 22, 2025, 04:53h.
- Casino workers who seek a clean indoor air workplace are calling on a consultancy to retract a 2022 study that concluded casino smoking is critical to Atlantic City
- The request comes after one of the consultants who worked on the study conceded that it’s no longer clear whether casino smoking is needed for a successful gaming business
- Atlantic City casinos can designate areas for smoking
Smoke-free casino advocates in Atlantic City are calling on a prominent gaming consulting firm to retract a 2022 study it published that claimed the elimination of indoor smoking leads to lower revenue and, therefore, risks jobs.
Spectrum Gaming Group is a “non-partisan consultancy,” but its research regarding casinos continuing to allow cigarette and cigar use on gaming floors in Atlantic City has been panned by casino workers, smoke-free advocates, union leaders, and a state lawmaker in New Jersey.
The 2022 report, “Potential Impacts of an Atlantic City Casino Smoking Ban on Gross Gaming Revenue,” concluded that a tobacco ban in Atlantic City would lead to gross gaming revenue (GGR) declines of between 4.2% and 10.9%. Spectrum said lower play would lead to casino job losses of 1,021 to 2,512 positions.
Now, a Spectrum official has made slightly contradictory remarks about that report, though the consultancy said it “stands behind the research, analysis, and conclusions in the 2022 report, and we stand behind the analysis and commentary in this week’s webinar.”
Analyst Says Environment Changing
During a webinar on casino smoking post-COVID, Dr. Geoff Atkinson, the marketing research manager at Management Science Associates, a Spectrum affiliate that jointly produces the so-called Spectrumetrix, an online platform of gaming data and analysis, said during the webinar that “it’s not at all obvious that smoking or being smoke-free is a great advantage or hindrance.”
Atkinson pointed to Rhode Island, a state where casino smoking is allowed, and neighboring Connecticut, where both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have voluntarily gone smoke-free. Atkinson said the Connecticut tribal resorts experience seasonal ups and downs, and those ups and downs are closely mimicked in Rhode Island.
“Any advantage gained by Rhode Island is smaller than Connecticut’s seasonal variations,” Atkinson said. Atkinson added that Parx Casino, just north of Philadelphia, a smoke-free casino, is “doing the best rebound post-COVID and surpassing their [slots] numbers from 2019.”
Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) says Atkinson’s concessions warrant that Spectrum rescind its 2022 study, which has been cited in the Trenton capital numerous times by casino lobbyists as smoke-free gaming legislation was considered.
Over the last three years, Spectrum’s research has significantly contributed to arguments against protecting us from dangerous secondhand smoke for eight hours every day, and too many of our colleagues have lost their lives over that period,” said Pete Naccarelli, a table game dealer at Borgata and co-founder of CEASE. “
“We’re calling on Spectrum to retract that report and for the Casino Association of New Jersey to stop fighting legislation that would protect our lives,” Naccarelli added.
Smoker Accommodations
Along with smoking rates continuing to decline, Atkinson said casinos have gotten better at accommodating those who do continue to enjoy lighting up.
“We saw about 20% of US adults smoking in 2006. That’s down to about 11.6% more recently. So, there are fewer smokers out there to deal with. Secondly, the casinos have been more accommodating, finding places to let smokers smoke. If they don’t let you smoke on the casino floor, there’ll be some open-air area or some patio or a place to go enjoy your cigarette where you’re not actually at the games,” Atkinson concluded.
No comments yet