Killing Gaming Floor Smoking Could Boost Revenue, Argue Anti-Smoking Advocates

The ongoing downturn in Las Vegas and Nevada tourism results in general has prompted Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights to call on casinos to act sooner rather than later and end an exemption that allows smokers to still occupy gaming floors in Sin City.

Nonsmokers Are Shunning Sin City, and They Will Continue to Do So

The idea that smokers are an indispensable contributor to a casino’s gaming revenue has been assailed time and again by various independent studies. The most recent event that the advocacy highlighted was a conversation that podcast host Robby Starbuck held with Fox News.

According to Starbuck, young people were choosing not to gamble, although he had a different reason in mind. Mostly, young people prefer to gamble online, Starbuck mused, arguing that he didn’t know a person under 40 who visits casinos in person.

But apart from this, the group also suggests that young people are simply loath to visit gaming floors that are filled with casino smoke. This is backed by data about how many young people smoke themselves – only 6% of adults under 30 say they have smoked a cigarette in the past week, a significant drop from the 35% who did so in the 2000s.  

Americans for Nonsomkers’ Rights president and CEO Cynthia Hallett has urged casino properties in Las Vegas and beyond to heed this shift in demographic preferences, with an estimated 90% of Americans being non-smokers.

Young People Are Simply Not Lighting Up

“Health-conscious young people who have never experienced widespread indoor smoking will be much more likely to visit casinos that don’t permit it,” Hallett cautioned.

As the country is going smoke-free, many Las Vegas casinos are hanging on to an exemption that is not doing anything to help them boost their revenue, while alienating future patrons, the advocacy argued.

The advocacy suggests that while casinos are reluctant to alienate paying customers in the pursuit of potential new players, this is the only way to avoid a longer-term economic slowdown, the type that Las Vegas is already experiencing.