Economic Impact of Smokefree Gaming
- A 2011 Indiana University study found that a 100% smokefree air law implemented in Fort Wayne, Indiana did not hurt off-track betting (OTB) in that community, and did not increase smoking-permitted OTB business in neighboring communities. Per capita gambling spending trends did not change for that town's county, nor for two neighboring counties' smoking-permitted OTB facilities. The researchers concluded that there is no economic reason for excluding OTBs from smokefree air laws. Indiana University's press release stated:
-
100% smokefree Illinois law, which included gaming venues, had a substantial positive effect on casino revenues.
The law "arrested the decline that had started two years earlier. The smokefree casino law was associated with about a $130 million increase in revenues." Click here to read the University of California, San Francisco statistical analysis, dated May 5, 2010. -
Atlantic City casino revenue comparisons for smokefree month (Oct 15 - Nov 15, 2008).
Table games and slot revenues dropped more in September and December when smoking was permitted, vs. October and November when smoking not permitted. Monthly revenue loss was less in October and November, than September and December, compared with monthly revenues from 2007. Click here to see the summary of 2008 monthly casino revenues, as reported by NJ Casino Control Commission. -
Conclusions and overviews of economic data by governments and governmental authorities
- The 2007 World Health Organization's Policy Recommendations on protection from exposure to secondhand tobacco smokefree concludes:
- "Smoke-free laws are popular, enforceable and have no effect or have a positive impact on business." (pg. 17)
- "Not a single study using objective data and sound research methodology has found an overall negative impact of smoke-free legislation association." (pg. 34)
- U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 2006
- New Jersey Office of Revenue and Economic Analysis, report to the New Jersey Treasurer
- Delaware Governor Minner, letter about impact of state smokefree air law on businesses, casinos
- Economic facts of smokefree gambling (approximately 5 pages), New Jersey GASP
- Trends in Smokefree Gaming, New Jersey GASP
-
Empirical studies
- Smokefree law did not affect revenue from gaming in Delaware (Mandel, Alamar, Glantz in Tobacco Control, 2005)
- Majority of gamblers are nonsmokers:
- "Smoking rates among gamblers at Nevada casinos mirror U.S. smoking rate", Tobacco Control, February, 2008
- December 2006 study by University of Nevada:
- press release from the University of Nevada at Reno
- full study
- 80% of regular gamblers want smokefree gaming; 5% increase in patronage is indicated (2006 survey of 3,000 Australians):
- A 2008 JD Power and Associates survey showed that 85% of Southern California gamblers that go to tribal casinos prefer smokefree casinos. Click here for a copy of the press release.
-
Actual Experiences of smokefree gaming sites
- List of smokefree casinos (from Americans for Nonsmokers Rights)
- Las Vegas SUN, "Casinos' fear may be so much smoke", October 22, 2006. Cites Global Gaming Business, casino trade publication, study that casinos might pick up more business if they go smokefree. The article also describes how casino business rebounds after smokefree air laws.
- Las Vegas Review Journal, "Gaming executives told how to survive new smoking ban", November 16, 2006
- Economic Facts of Smokefree Gaming by New Jersey GASP, January 1, 2009.
- Trends
in Smokefree Gaming by New Jersey GASP, January 1, 2006.
-
Predictions, claims of negative economic impact, with fact-based responses
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditor at the time for Altria, produced a report for Casino Association of New Jersey predicting a significant decrease in revenue:
- PricewaterhouseCoopers report (26 pages)
- Response to PwC report by Alamar and Glantz, the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.
- The casino industry has claimed that Dover Downs racino (race track casino) suffered reduced gaming income because of the Delaware Clean Indoor Air Act of 2002. New Jersey GASP's attorney, Karen Blumenfeld, who also has a degree in business, investigated this claim by researching SEC quarterly filings for Dover Downs. Those official reports do not support the claims of negative economic impact of the law.
- See Blumenfeld's three-page report (from Trends in Smokefree Gaming)
- An AP story on Dover Downs current economic success (October 2006),
- analysis of Dover Downs racino, Delaware, quarterly reports
- Delaware Governor Minner, letter about impact of state smokefree air law on businesses, casinos
- Las Vegas SUN, "Casinos' fear may be so much smoke", October 22, 2006. Ed Sutor, CEO of Dover Downs, says "the ban ultimately proved a good thing for his business"
The study, published online on March 22, 2011 by the journal Tobacco Control, compared per capita "handle," or the amount gamblers spent per number of people living in the county, for three Indiana OTBs from 2002 to 2009. The OTBs were located in Fort Wayne, which in 2007 implemented a smoke-free air law in all workplaces, including gambling facilities, and in Indianapolis and Merrillville, where smoking is permitted at the facilities.
The study found that the per capita handle in all three facilities declined at a similar rate during this period, with unemployment rates proving to be a significant predictor of the per capita handle. As unemployment rates increased, per capita handle decreased. There was no change in the trend in per capita handle after the Fort Wayne location went smoke-free or in the two control locations that continued to allow smoking.
Last update: 1/25/10