New Report Warns Atlantic City Physical Casinos Are Losing Revenue and Jobs in the Face of Smokefree Competition

AC Casinos Must Eliminate Secondhand Smoke to Compete With Online Gaming and Smokefree NYC Casinos

Atlantic City, NJ — The New Jersey Public Health Commission took a decisive stand for worker safety on Monday, voting to recommend a resolution to New Jersey Health Commissioner Raymond E. Washington that calls for urgent action to address the casino smoking loophole. During the meeting, the Commission described smokefree Atlantic City, NJ — A new report from the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA) warns that Atlantic City’s brick and mortar casino industry, already at its lowest employment rate in nine years, now faces growing competition that could eliminate thousands of more jobs by 2035.

According to the report, physical casino revenue is down by 63.7% from its peak 20 years ago. Online gaming revenue surpassed brick and mortar casino revenue in Atlantic City for the first time in 2025, and competition from new casinos in New York, where all casinos are 100% smokefree, also poses a threat. What’s clear is that Atlantic City casinos can’t hold on to their existing ways of operating—which includes allowing smoking on the gaming floor.

“The president of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino George Goldhoff said the ‘industry is ready to be part of the solution, but only if Trenton acts before, not after, the exposure this report describes becomes reality,’” said Pete Naccarelli, longtime Atlantic City casino worker and co-founder of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE). “But if the casino industry was truly concerned about visitors to their brick-and-mortar properties, let alone the wellbeing of its employees or the working-class communities it claims to support, there is an easy step it can take. Eliminate indoor smoking. If casino executives want to bring people who are choosing to stay home back to Atlantic City’s casinos, they should make the in-person experience better — and protect their workers — by ending their lobbying effort against bipartisan legislation in Trenton that would end indoor smoking in all New Jersey casinos.”

Last year, Spectrum analysts noted that in Philadelphia, Atlantic City’s biggest and nearest casino market competitor, eliminating smoking from casinos attracted customers. Parx Casino was the only casino in Pennsylvania to remain smokefree after COVID-19 smokefree regulations were lifted, and it had the best post-pandemic rebound in table games revenue among casinos in the area. In order to compete with online gaming and the growing New York casino market, Atlantic City needs to adapt. In the new report, the ACEA recommends “reinvestment in the physical casino-hotel destination” and “city improvements and beautification.” The path forward is clear: Atlantic City casino executives must invest in their facilities by making gaming floors 100% smokefree, thereby improving the quality of visiting and gaming in Atlantic City and attracting more in-person patrons.

See what casino workers say about working in secondhand smoke: the Real Deal