Atlantic City council members voted Friday to delay a vote on a proposed casino smoking ban until January 24th, ostensibly to give casino owners time to prepare for the ban. The new date for enactment of the ban would be April 15th, much later than the early February timeline initially proposed. In statements and preliminary votes, the council and mayor have expressed their support for the smoking ban, widely opposed by casino industry officials.
According to 1010WINS.com, the president of a casino industry group last month told the city council that 20 percent of the city's revenue would disappear if the casino smoking ban became law because die-hard smokers would go elsewhere to gamble. Anti-smoking activists disagree, and cite the possible ban as the possible beginning of a nationwide movement to curb smoking in casinos.
New Jersey adopted a state law in 2006 banning smoking in most indoor public places, but exempted casinos from the regulation. Municipalities are free to enact stricter casino smoking laws on their own, which is what is being considered in Atlantic City. If the ban passes, AC would become the largest gambling center in the US that does not allow smoking in casinos. Las Vegas exempted casinos from its smoking ban which went into effect this January, and Biloxi allows smoking in the Gulf Coast casinos.