Commentary: Smoking in Nevada Casinos Is A Tough Habit To Kick

There is a constant debate about whether Nevada should ban smoking in casinos. Many arguments for it are reasonable, while others ignore what happened in other jurisdictions that tried this public policy.

Nevada’s Current Smoking Ban

In 2006, the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act went into effect after winning a ballot initiative. It banned smoking in most public places. However, it exempted casinos, bars that did not allow minors and did not serve food, brothels, strip clubs, and retail tobacco shops.

Nevada’s smoking ban has been amended twice by the state legislature. In 2009, tobacco-related conventions were exempted. In 2011, bars that served food but not minors were exempted. Most Nevada bars resemble mini-casinos and were illegally allowing smoking anyway without penalty. All it did was put the law where society was.

Nevada Legislature Not Interested in Smoking Bans

The Nevada Legislature was majority-democratic in both chambers this year. The governor is also a Democrat. Most states with smoking bans in casinos tend to lean left. However, a smoking ban was never discussed, much less introduced in 2019. The Nevada Legislature does not meet again until 2021.

Nevada Smoking Ban Probably Requires Voter Initiative

As noted above, in 2006, Nevada voters approved the smoking ban. This seems like the only way a ban that covers bars and casinos could ever pass. However, like the legislature, there does not appear to be any interest in doing this.

I have lived in Nevada since 2010, and I am not aware of any petition drive attempting to get a smoking ban on the ballot since that time. The number of signatures by registered voters required to get an issue on a Nevada ballot is at least 10 percent of the voters in the previous statewide election.

Nevada Isn’t the Only State That Allows Casino Smoking

Popular opinion states Nevada is one of the last states that allow smoking in casinos. In 2010, The New York Times described Las Vegas as “The last bastion for smokers.”  That is not accurate.

There are 15 states with commercial casinos or video lottery parlors that permit smoking. Those states are Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Some of these states have no smoking ban on the books. Others specifically exempt gaming establishments and/or bars.

In addition to those casino states, smoking is permitted in bingo halls or off-track betting parlors in Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.

State smoking bans do not cover smoking in tribal casinos. Nearly all allow it, though some have nonsmoking areas.

Nevada is not the only place to repeal a casino smoking ban. Atlantic City passed a local ordinance that would have ended smoking on its casino floors. The ordinance was repealed as it took effect. Hancock County, West Virginia repealed a local smoking ban on gaming establishments after revenue tanked at Mountaineer Casino in New Cumberland under the county health department’s smoking ban policy.

Loss of Revenue After Smoking Bans

Casino smoking bans repeatedly hurt gaming revenues. The St. Louis Federal Reserve released a study on Illinois casinos after a smoking ban was passed. It noted that Illinois lost 21 percent of its gaming revenues. The state blamed the recession, but the study concluded much of that money went to neighboring states that do not have casino smoking bans.

South Dakota banned smoking in casinos and video lottery parlors in 2010. It suffered a similar fate as Illinois. Video lottery revenues dropped 15 percent in the first full year after the smoking ban. The South Dakota Video Lottery had to reinvest in new devices and approve slot machines to recover, but not before about 10 percent of its retailers shuttered. Deadwood suffered a 5 percent drop after the smoking ban went into effect. It recovered by introducing new table games like craps and roulette, as well as increasing its bet limit from $100 to $1,000.

Colorado casinos posted a drop of 12.3 percent in the first full year after a smoking ban went into effect in the state. It took ten years for revenues to recover fully and hit the levels before the smoking ban. During this time, the bet limit went up from $5 to $100, along with the introduction of table games of luck like craps and roulette.

A smoking ban went into effect in Montana in 2009. Revenue at the state’s video lottery casinos dropped 16 percent immediately. It was the first decline in revenues in the state’s 20-year gaming industry. Revenues never reached pre-smoking ban highs again.

Casinos Reluctant to Ban Smoking When Permitted by Law

There are no examples of Las Vegas casinos that ban smoking. Some have nonsmoking areas of the slot floor or table game pit. None have an area walled off from the rest of the casino. Arizona Charlie’s Decatur tried this and removed the wall after a test period. Many Las Vegas casinos will make a table nonsmoking if all players agree.

Casinos That Banned Smoking Without Law

There are two examples of casinos that could permit smoking by law and decided to ban it. Ho-Chunk Nation Gaming in Madison, Wisconsin, celebrated its third anniversary of the decision earlier this year. Palace Casino in Biloxi went nonsmoking in 2011 and never looked back.

Revel in Atlantic City opened in 2012 as a nonsmoking casino. That changed in 2013. Management felt this might be part of the reason its gaming revenue was near the basement of the Atlantic City market. However, there were many other factors in the resort’s troubles. It eventually ceased operations. Ocean Resort Casino reopened in its place, and it permits smoking, matching the rest of the casino market where 25 percent of the floor may be smoking, per local ordinance.

My Personal Feelings

My wife and I recently visited Deadwood, South Dakota, where smoking is prohibited by state law. It was nice not to have to deal with smoke-filled casinos. It made for a more enjoyable visit. However, the free market believer in me still disagrees with smoking bans on private property.

The market has decided that it wants smoking in casinos. Nevada cannot afford any loss in gaming revenues, especially when smoking bans have proven time and time again to hurt gaming economies and jobs. Therefore, I support the casinos’ right to choose. However, I would also like to see a Las Vegas casino take a chance and become a 100 percent nonsmoking establishment. If successful, the market will run with the idea.