Smokefree voluntarily
and additional economic data on smokefree gaming
from:
Trends
in Smokefree Gaming
By Karen
Blumenfeld, Esq.
Director, Tobacco Control Policy and Legal Resource Center
January 31, 2006
Smokefree
voluntarily
Some gambling
sites have gone smokefree voluntarily, such as a gaming venue
in Taos, New Mexico. In September 2005, the Blackfeet Reservation
in Montana made its gaming facilities smokefree. The Lucky
Bear Casino on the Hoopa Reservation in northern California
is Native American and completely smokefree voluntarily. Several
Native American casinos offer smokefree rooms for gambling
and restaurant areas, and this data is tracked by our colleagues
at the American Indian Tobacco Education Network in California
http://www.crihb.org/Tobacco/tobacco.htm.
MotorCity in Detroit has smokefree floors. In Louisville,
Kentucky, Churchill Downs horse racing is smokefree since
it refurbished, except for one bar. Harrah's Cherokee Casino
& Hotel in North Carolina created a 100% smokefree policy
for one 8,000 square feet building in September 2005.
Foxwoods
and Mohegan Sun casinos banned smoking in their poker rooms.
Grand Casino Gulfport in Mississippi banned smoking from a
wing of its casino that covers a 15-table, 150-seat poker
room, which takes up almost all of the gambling space on the
third floor. And some of the big casinos in Las Vegas and
Atlantic City have smokefree poker rooms. Quebec's casinos
originally went mostly smokefree out of fear of litigation
from a pregnant worker who got her union behind her on the
issue. (Now they're smokefree by law, as described above.)
Additional
economic data on smokefree gaming
- In
1998, California implemented a smokefree air law for establishments
that serve alcohol, including gaming rooms and casinos,
except Native American casinos. The California Board of
Equalization analyzed taxable sales figures for those sites
for each quarter of 1998 vs. 1997, and found that revenues
increased by more than 5% following implementation of the
law.
- The
2003 Glantz/Wilson-Loots Study showed that there is no association
between smokefree ordinances and profits decreasing from
bingo and charitable games in Massachusetts. The study reviewed
data from 220 municipalities as reported to the Massachusetts
State Lottery Commission. During 1985-2001, bingo profits
fell over the entire period, this trend was established
before smokefree laws started in the early 1990s, and that
trend was unaffected by the smokefree law.
- Three
Montreal casinos have been smokefree since July 2003 (except
for separated smoking lounges). Their 2004 annual report,
on page 12, states that going smokefree is "…a
move that places them in the avant-garde of the North American
gaming industry where most gaming houses have yet to adopt
this measure." Annual revenues (for all three totaled)
went from $747.5 million in 2003, to $751.9 in 2005. My
understanding is that, in 2003, a pregnant employee complained
that she didn't want to work in the smoking section, her
union supported her, and the casinos agreed to go smokefree.
- In
2004 the Mandalay Resort Group created a 100% smokefree
policy for its third floor at its MotorCity Casino in Michigan.
The third floor houses the casino's poker room which usually
has a waiting list to play, since the smokefree floor represents
10% of the total gambling space, but more than 10% of the
patrons gamble here. Later in 2004, MGM Mirage bought out
Mandalay, a Detroit businesswoman bought MotorCity, and
MotorCity retained its smokefree policy.
- Prior
to New Zealand's smokefree law taking effect in December
2004, New Zealand's biggest casino operator, Sky City Entertainment,
voluntarily made more than 40% of its gaming areas smokefree.
The smokefree policy also covered 50% to 100% of the space
in its seven Auckland casino restaurants and all public
areas. As of August 8, 2005, and since being 100% smokefree,
Sky City Entertainment has stated that it beat its own expectations
with a slight rise in its annual profit, even with delays
in refurbishing one of its six casinos, and technology problems.
Net profits rose $4 million or 4% last year. It expected
a steady recovery from the smokefree law, and predicted
any residual impacts would be minimal in 2007. Incidentally,
the company also faced tougher gaming regulations that coincided
with the smoking ban. Currently, there is a ban on creating
new casinos in New Zealand.
- In
the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, smokefree legislation
became effective January 1, 2005. A July 28, 2005 article
in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reports that the Saskatchewan
Gaming Corporation stated that attendance at its two government-run
casinos (one in Regina, one in Moose Jaw) was up 25% in
January 2005, compared to January 2004, but net income was
down 33 per cent for the 1st quarter 2005 (April - June).
However, the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation's Annual Report
2004-2005 (April 2004-March 2005) concluded that the smokefree
air legislation had minimal impact.
o
"Revenue from table games was down marginally over
the previous year, but this was expected due to the
transition to a smoke-free environment at Casino Regina.
Clearly though, table games have not been impacted to
date to the extent that was first projected." (page
20)
o "An innovative marketing campaign, along with
facility updates to accommodate patrons smoking outdoors,
helped ease the transition." The casino's atmosphere
was "refreshed" by cleaning carpets and drapes,
re-painting, etc. (page 13)
o "These strategies, coupled with a new multimedia
campaign advertising the benefits of SGC's refreshed
facilities, has helped minimize the impact of the smoking
ban on overall revenues." (page 18)
o "During the 2004-2005 fiscal year, SGC posted
a net income of $39.4 million, an increase of $2.9 million
over the previous year's profit of $36.5 million."
"Net revenues were $97.7 million, an increase of
$6.7 million, or 7.4% of the previous year." "Slot
revenues increased $5.l million. Table revenues saw
no change from the previous year." (page 47)
This
page updated November 9, 2006
|
