July 4 Marks Four-Year Return of Atlantic City Casino Smoking
Today, July 4, 2025, marks four years since smoking indoors was reintroduced in Atlantic City casinos. Numerous gaming and resort employees seeking a smoke-free indoor environment are still urging New Jersey legislators to eliminate the smoking exemption granted to the nine coastal resorts.
Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, known as CEASE, informs Casino.org that its members are still “unnecessarily subjected to secondhand smoke.” CEASE, a grassroots group of table game dealers, slot attendants, and additional resort employees, formed after New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s (D) emergency directive that briefly banned indoor smoking in casinos and parimutuel establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic ended on July 4, 2021.
"During the first year of the pandemic, it became abundantly clear that eliminating smoke from casinos benefits everyone — there was a noticeable improvement in the health and quality of life of casino workers, and casinos in Atlantic City prospered despite industry leaders’ sky-will-fall narrative,” said Pete Naccarelli, a longtime Atlantic City table games dealer and co-founder of CEASE.
“Four years later, the evidence is clearer than ever that casinos don’t have to sacrifice workers’ health to foster economic success — in fact, almost 80% of South Jersey voters say they would be more likely to visit a casino if it were smoke-free,” Naccarelli continued.
“So, why are we still fighting for our basic right to breathe clean air in the workplace? The most patriotic thing New Jersey lawmakers can do this 4th of July is pass smokefree legislation as soon as possible,” the CEASE leader appealed.
Governor Restricted in Authority
Murphy has consistently stated he would endorse legislation to make the nine casinos smoke-free.
"If legislation comes to my desk to ban smoking, you should assume that I will sign it,” the term-limited lame duck said in May. “There was a period of time due to the public health emergency where we did not allow [smoking] in the casinos. But at a certain point, that was always going to expire, and it did expire.”
Murphy, in his role as governor, has the authority to issue emergency directives pertaining to public health under the New Jersey Emergency Health Powers Act. Such declarations, however, can only be provisional and must occur during a public health emergency designated by the state, with COVID-19 serving as a key example.
Murphy cannot solely eliminate casino smoking permanently with an executive order. Only the New Jersey Legislature has the authority to modify the state's Smoke-Free Air Act from 2006, which permits gaming areas with at least 150 slot machines, 10 table games, or a mix of both to allocate up to 25% of the area for tobacco consumption. The legislation does not mandate distinct ventilation systems for the smoking section.
Significance of Smoking Challenged
Different research on the current permission of smoking in casinos and the effects of prohibitions on overall revenue have resulted in varying findings. The casino resorts in Atlantic City argue that an all-encompassing smoking ban would decrease revenue, subsequently resulting in job cuts.
However, in Pennsylvania, a state that permits smoking in casinos, Parx, a casino that has chosen to remain smoke-free, still leads in gross gaming revenue.
Last year, the 17 physical casinos in Pennsylvania reported a gross gaming revenue of $3.38 billion from their slots and table games. Parx represented $569.8 million, which is almost 17% of market control.