A House committee has once again approved legislation to ban tobacco use on Pennsylvania casino floors.
For many years, Pennsylvania Representative Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) has been at the forefront of the effort to ban smoking at casinos. He is once again advocating for casino patrons who smoke to be forced to go outside in order to light a cigarette or cigar.
By a vote of 22-4 on Tuesday, the House Health Committee approved Frankel's House Bill 880, a proposed modification to the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act that would eliminate exemptions granted to slot machine businesses. Despite bipartisan support from the Health Committee, none of the 23 cosponsors of the bill are Republicans.
“Pennsylvanians should not have to choose between their jobs and their health,” Frankel said. “My legislation would eliminate loopholes that leave Pennsylvanian workers exposed to toxic smoke, expand the definition of smoking to include e-cigarettes, and give localities the ability to enact smoke-free ordinances that are more protective than state law.”
According to Pennsylvania's current smoking law, casinos are permitted to set aside up to 50% of their gaming area for smoking.
Bill Has a Hard Time
Frankel argues that the idea that smoke-free gaming is more profitable is backed by an increasing amount of data. He points to the Parx Casino north of Philadelphia as the top-earning establishment out of Pennsylvania's 17 physical casinos. According to Parx officials, their decision to ban smoking has reduced healthcare expenses for staff, raised morale, and drawn in new patrons, both gaming and nongaming.
"Research on trends in the casino business and consumer attitudes indicates that the conventional wisdom that smoking bans cause economic harm is severely outdated and unsupported by contemporary evidence,” Frankel said.
That may be the case, but a lot of legislators still support the gaming business because they think that a smoking ban will discourage play and result in thousands of job losses. Because of this, HB880 has a slim chance of passing the General Assembly and making it to the desk of Governor Josh Shapiro (D).
Frankel's bill to outlaw smoking in casinos was approved by the House Health Committee last year, but it was blocked when it got to the House floor.
Of the 17 casinos in Pennsylvania, all but two allow smoking indoors. The exceptions are Parx and Parx Shippensburg, its satellite mini-casino.
States with Casino Smoking
Pennsylvania and New Jersey are the only states in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that permit smoking at casinos. It is illegal to smoke cigarettes or cigars indoors on gaming floors in Maryland, Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Those who oppose smoke-free casinos in Atlantic City and Pennsylvania frequently argue that smokers would choose to visit the other market where smoking is still permitted. It only takes an hour to drive from Philadelphia to Atlantic City.
Both markets are doing nicely. Between January and August of 2025, Atlantic City's in-person casino revenue increased 2.8% to over $1.97 billion. In the fiscal year 2024–2025, Pennsylvania's casinos brought in $3.36 billion.