The first legal casino was opened in the United States in 1931, towards the end of Prohibition. The birth of the US casino industry coincided with the sudden interest in smoking. Since smokers and casino patrons both shared the same adventurous traits during that puritanical era in history, it wasn’t surprising that there was a lot of overlap between the two groups. People frequently smoked while they went to the casino to indulge in other forms of recreation.
Over the past century, casinos have traditionally been a haven for smokers, but times are starting to change. A growing number of casinos are starting to ban smoking altogether. This means that many customers may want to start using tobacco alternatives.
This trend is likely to accelerate during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Movement to Ban Casino Smoking Got Off to a Slow Start
In 2014, MDedge published an article on the movement to ban smoking in tribal casinos. The article cited research from the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council in Wisconsin, the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in Oregon and the University of Oklahoma, all of which stated that smoking in tribal casinos creates a variety of health risks for both workers and patrons. Secondhand smoke is a great concern for everyone in those establishments.
Part of the concern stems from the prevalence of smoking among the demographics most likely to visit casinos. MDedge pointed out that 40% of native Americans still smoke, even though the rate of smoking has dropped precipitously across the general population. Native Americans are frequent casino attendees, so many tribes are concerned that members of their tribes might be spreading secondhand smoke to each other.
They wanted to take more stringent measures to combat smoking in casinos, but initial progress was slow at the time. When that article was first written, only six out of the 237 tribes that operated casinos had imposed smoking bans.
Discussions continued over the next few years, but little progress was made. Last summer, WisPolitics.com reported that only a single tribal casino had banned smoking in Wisconsin. In December, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that only three out of the 69 tribal casinos in California had imposed a smoking ban.
There was a strong movement to prohibit smoking in casinos, but decision makers we are reluctant to follow through.
Efforts to ban casino smoking gain traction in 2020
While critics have chastised casinos for allowing smoking over the past decade, efforts to impose smoking bans have only recently started to gain momentum. Last year, regulators in California and other states started discussing options to prohibit smoking in both tribal and state managed gaming establishments. They faced trickier challenges addressing smoking in tribal casinos, since they are technically under federal jurisdiction. However, state authorities and tribal leaders have started to agree that a smoking ban would be prudent.
Several factors are driving casinos to consider banning patrons from smoking. A couple of the biggest are detailed below.
Employees supporting smoking bands for healthier workplaces
Regulators and tribal leaders aren’t the only stakeholders expressing interest in prohibiting smoking. Casino employees and customers are also following suit.
According to the CDC, 75% of casino employees would like to have smoking barred from their workplaces. Their reasoning should be obvious. Smoking creates serious health risks in any workplace. The CDC asserts that there is no way to create an entirely safe establishment that allows smoking. Any level of secondhand smoke creates a health risk for employees and patrons.
Casinos will have to balance employee concerns against those of customers that smoke. If growing fears of secondhand smoke cause employee turnover to rise high enough, then casinos are going to have to respond accordingly. A ban on smoking might be the only option.
COVID-19 causes casino smoking concerns to escalate
The recent pandemic has alarmed people all over the country. They aren’t just concerned about the risks of getting COVID-19. They are also worried about other health risks, such as pulmonary heart disease and lung cancer.
Some of the arguments against smoking are directly tied in with the pandemic itself. Health experts have pointed out that smoking can increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 for a couple of reasons.
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Smokers have to remove their masks, which obviously exposes them to airborne pathogens, including the COVID-19 virus. They also have to move their hands to their face, which increases the risk of a COVID-19 infection, since many people get infected after the virus lingers on their hands and is brought to their face.
The last thing any casino wants is to make national news headlines for being a hotspot for COVID-19 infections. Some casinos have already prohibited smoking to curtail the spread of the virus.
Casinos in newly regulated markets are able to push stricter policies
Many parts of the country began expanding their casino industries after the Great Recession. State and municipal governments faced serious budget problems, which had to be addressed by tapping new revenue sources.
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Some states, such as Massachusetts started issuing casino licenses for the first time. While states with existing casinos would have faced opposition from customers if they ban smoking, new casinos did not have to deal with the same level of pushback. They were able to prohibit smoking the day that they open their doors.
Consumer market forces
The market can also be a persuasive force for regulation. Although some consumers still enjoy lighting up in a casino, others prefer a smoke free environment.
Consumers have taken a more hostile view of smoking over the last 20 years. Many establishments are starting to respond, even in communities where regulators have not already stepped in.
Smoking in casinos may soon be a thing of the past
Smoking has been popular in many casinos for decades. However, they are starting to face pressure from all sides to prohibit smoking. Some casinos have already started to make these changes and others might implement them in the future.
