By Andrew Klebanow
Smoke on the Water
Non-smoking trends on the I-5 Corridor in Washington
By Andrew Klebanow
Horseshoe Hotel & Casino , Bossier City , Louisiana
The debate to close regulatory loopholes that allow casinos to permit smoking on their gaming floors continues in New Jersey , Pennsylvania and Rhode Island . On one side are employee groups and health care advocates that are lobbying to close those loopholes and force casinos to adhere to indoor air quality standards mandated for most every other business . On the other side are casino operators who fear a diminution in gaming revenue if those loopholes were closed . Their concern is that if they were forced to ban smoking , customers would go to nearby jurisdictions where smoking is still permitted .
The Uneven Playing Field
The concept of an uneven playing field , in which regulations give one jurisdiction a competitive advantage over another , has long been a concern to commercial casino operators . The closure of smoking loopholes in Illinois , Delaware , Colorado and New Orleans , all prior to the pandemic , provided ample evidence that gaming revenue initially declined , albeit at different rates , yet recovered in subsequent years .
Nevertheless , the uneven playing field continues to be a concern to commercial operators where loopholes are being challenged .
The Bossier City / Shreveport , Louisiana gaming market is an example of an uneven playing field .
Five casinos straddle the Red River , with the Margaritaville Resort Casino , Boomtown Casino and Horseshoe Hotel & Casino on the Bossier City side of the river , and Bally ’ s Shreveport and Sam ’ s Town Hotel and Casino on the Shreveport side to the west . Two bridges connect one part of the market to the other . Louisiana Downs , a racetrack casino in Bossier City , is located eight miles east of the river .
On August 1 , 2021 , the Shreveport City Council mandated that the two casinos in its jurisdiction adhere to a citywide policy and ban smoking . During that ban , the two operators made the case that they were at a disadvantage since gamblers who smoke could simply travel across the river to play in a casino that permitted smoking .
Collectively , their share of the market declined from 26 percent to 24 percent . After a concerted lobbying effort , the Shreveport City Council rescinded their ban and smoking was reintroduced on June 1 , 2023 . Once the ban was lifted , the two casinos ’ market share returned to 26 percent , but their overall gaming revenue declined from an average of $ 12,128,700 during the ban to $ 12,054,700 after the ban was lifted . The graph illustrates this trend .
14 Global Gaming Business AUGUST 2024