Smoking rules on gaming floors

Smoking is the sharpest practical difference between casino markets. A visitor moving from a Toronto floor to a Las Vegas floor experiences two entirely different rooms, and the reason is that casinos were carved out of indoor smoking bans in some jurisdictions and not in others.

Where it is banned

• Canada. Indoor smoking is prohibited in casinos nationwide. Outdoor terraces are a standard feature as a result, and several properties built sheltered external areas specifically for the purpose.
• Australia and New Zealand. Gaming floors are smoke-free, with designated outdoor areas; some venues operate partially enclosed outdoor gaming spaces, which have themselves been the subject of regulatory review.
• United Kingdom. Smoking indoors has been prohibited since 2006 and 2007 across the four nations, with no casino exemption.
• Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland. Banned on gaming floors, with enclosed or outdoor smoking rooms permitted under varying conditions.
• Macau. Smoking is prohibited in main gaming areas; enclosed, separately ventilated lounges away from the tables are permitted, and the rules were tightened progressively from 2013.
• Singapore. Permitted only in designated enclosed rooms, not on the open floor.

Where it is still permitted

Nevada remains the most significant exception. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act exempted casino gaming areas, so smoking continues on most Las Vegas and Reno floors, although individual properties have opened smoke-free sections and a few locals casinos have gone smoke-free entirely. New Jersey exempted casino floors from its own ban, and Atlantic City smoking has been the subject of repeated legislative attempts and union campaigns without a change in the law.

Several other American states permit smoking on tribal floors, where state law does not apply, and in commercial casinos under exemptions written when the properties were licensed. Germany and Austria allow smoking in separated rooms under state rules that differ between Länder.

Why the exemptions survive

Three arguments recur. Operators have historically argued that a ban would move customers to neighbouring jurisdictions — an argument that carried weight when Pennsylvania and New Jersey competed directly. Gaming tax revenue gives states an interest in protecting casino trade. And the workforce argument, that employees are exposed involuntarily, has been the main counterweight; it has gained ground since 2020 and is the basis of the current Atlantic City campaign.

The evidence from markets that have banned smoking suggests the revenue effect is real but smaller and shorter-lived than operators predicted, which is why the policy trend across the last fifteen years has run one way.

What it means in practice

Vaping is a separate question

Electronic cigarettes are not covered by most of the original indoor smoking statutes, so each venue sets its own rule and they vary widely even within one city. Several Asian jurisdictions regulate vaping far more strictly than tobacco: Singapore prohibits the possession and use of e-cigarettes outright, and Thailand and Cambodia impose import bans. A traveller carrying a vaping device should check the destination country's law rather than the casino's.

Questions

More on visitor practicalities

• Casino dress codes, region by region
• Loyalty programmes and comps
• Table minimums and when they change