Rhode Island Casino Employees Hope to Have Smoking Prohibited

Smoking in casinos is becoming an increasingly bigger issue for those working there. As such, there has been a strong response from workers everywhere in the United States calling for the end of smoking on gaming floors. While some have objected that this would impinge on financial results, others have welcomed it as a long-overdue measure to safeguard public health.

Banning Smoking from Rhode Island Casinos a Possibility

This is why casino workers testified in favor of a bill this Wednesday that would prohibit smoking on casino floors at Bally’s Twin River properties in Rhode Island. While smoking was banned during the pandemic, a return of smoking practices on-site has made employees uneasy and not happy with the potential health implications.

Employees stated earlier this week that the lack of cigarette and cigar smoke in their immediate vicinity had “a positive impact” on their health, but the testimony was not given with actual data, other than personal accounts.

Matthew Dunham, a table games dealer, said during the testimony that it was hard for him to work with someone lighting a cigarette a few feet from his head. He also reminded that many places in the United States prohibited smoking out in public spaces and questioned how it should be okay for people to be allowed to smoke next to him at his workplace.

Naturally, not everyone agrees. Smokers who frequent casinos seem miffed by any legal attempt to restrict their freedoms. The issue has raged across the country with one of the fiercest fights erupting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The Argument For Smoking Is Wearing Thin

There have been growing calls to suspend smoking on gaming floors in the Garden State. This has been faced with stiff opposition by stakeholders who cautioned against such moves. According to casino representatives, suspending smoking would further bite into the pandemic-induced slowdown in casinos’ bottom line.

Therefore, New Jersey should stick with smoking in casinos a popular argument reads. However, even Pennsylvania is seriously thinking about imposing the same measures to limit smoking on its casino floors. Proponents of the anti-smoking ban have cited evidence that prohibiting smoking – despite smokers tending to gamble more – has not really impacted the bottom line of gambling properties across the US.