The Business Case for Smokefree Casinos

Assessing the Economic Impacts of Indoor Smokefree Casino Policies

For decades, ANR/F has fought to protect everyone’s right to breathe smokefree air in workplaces and public places through legislation, grassroots activism, and public awareness. Since 2023, we have been using another tool—corporate shareholder engagement—and it’s sparking more conversations about the issue at the highest levels. We have filed shareholder proposals with several casino companies annually, requesting that they commission and disclose reports on the potential cost savings of implementing a smokefree indoor air policy. These reports would provide investors with data on how smokefree policies could reduce employee turnover, health insurance costs, and cleaning and maintenance expenses, while attracting new customers.

This process is a way for investors to signal to management this is an issue of concern that should be addressed. Our proposals in the past two years generated major national news coverage, including from top business outlets like, Squawk Box and The Wall Street Journal. These headlines have amplified our message and made it clear that this is not just a health issue—it’s a business issue.

Goals:

  • Calls for a report on financial implications of a smokefree policy — not implementation
  • Promotes transparency and data-driven decision-making
  • Equips leadership with insights on revenue, cost savings, and risk
  • Helps evaluate alignment with consumer trends and regulatory shifts
  • Allows casino to stay competitive in a health-conscious market

(click to see full memo and slides)

###

About ANRF

American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF) is a 501c3 non-profit educational and advocacy group that has been working for nearly 50 years to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANRF has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANRF aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit https://no-smoke.org/. ANRF projects include https://smokefreecasinos.org/ and https://smokefreemusiccities.org/.