Smoke-Free Maryland Casinos Thriving, Gaming Outperforming Pre-Pandemic

Maryland casinos are faring break than ever so before, and they’re doing so without allowing patrons to smoking on their gaming floors.

The gambling casino industry has long advocated for the essential of allowing gamblers to smoke. The deuce vices, some say, tour hand-in-hand. But inward Maryland, a country that has ever prohibited cassino smoking, 144 gaming revenue (GGR) is roaring in the backwash of the pandemic.

Maryland’s sestet commercial casinos won $172.4 meg inwards May. It was the nation gaming industry’s all-time best month. June marked yet another solid showing. GGR last month totaled $161.5 million, 12.6 percent ameliorate than June 2019.

Five of the sextet properties reported higher gaming revenue inwards June 2021 than they did in June 2019. Only Horseshoe Baltimore experienced a decline.

MGM National Harbor led the way with GGR of $63.7 million, a 12 percent premium on June 2019. Live! Casino & Hotel was next at $58.4 million, a 19.4 percent increase, and Horseshoe Baltimore 3rd at $17 million, an 8.9 percent wane from June 2019.

Ocean Downs, Hollywood Perryville, and Rocky Gap combined to win some $22.3 million. Each of those casinos experienced a double-digit GGR increment from 2019.

Smoke, and Mirrors?

The swift recovery of byplay at Maryland casinos is being used by anti-smoking advocates to itch lawmakers in states where gambling casino smoking is permitted to turn over legislating to finish the clean indoor transmit loophole.

Casinos in Keystone State are allowed to denominate upwardly to 50 percent of their gaming floors for smoking. New Jersey’s Atlantic City’s casinos put up allocate 25 percent for indoor smoking.

The cassino manufacture says going completely smoke-free would negatively wallop business, a contention that the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) rejects.

New revenue figures released this calendar week for Maryland’s sextet casinos — all of which run smoke-free indoors thanks to province law — show how gaming operators can thrive piece also protecting their employees and guests from the well-established dangers of fifty-fifty legal brief exposure to used smoke,” an ANR financial statement to Casino.org read.

“Gamblers inwards the part feature a crystallise alternative to breathing used smoke spell they romp — they can buoy tour to Maryland. Unfortunately, most gaming employees cannot easily make a motion their jobs to smoke-free casinos, which is wherefore it’s past tense clip for PA and Atlantic Ocean City casinos to position their employees 1st and relieve oneself smoke-free indoor beam the permanent policy,” added ANR President Cynthia Hallett.

Casino Smoking past State

Twenty-five states experience commercial casinos and/or racinos inward the US. Only nine are to the full smoke-free. Smoking piece gaming is full prohibited inward Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Dakota.

The editorial plank of The Star-Ledger, the to the highest degree circulated paper inward New Jersey, today called on lawmakers to fully banning indoor casino smoking.

Yes, we’ve heard the objections of the Casino Association of New Jersey, which says a ban on smoking puts them at a ‘competitive disadvantage.’ But they hold yet to explain how profits at Atlantic Ocean City casinos were 11 percent higher in the number one quarter of 2021 than inwards the first of all canton of 2019,” the op-ed read.

“It must be a anteriority inward the next [legislative] session. Casino workers cannot have their breathing space forever,” the editorial concluded.