Atlantic City casino employees seeking to end indoor smoking on the gambling floor took their case to an appeals court on Monday in Trenton, the latest step in a five-year campaign to eliminate smoking inside the city’s nine casinos.

A three-judge panel was scheduled to hear arguments in a lawsuit that asks the court to force New Jersey to close what workers describe as a long-standing loophole in the state’s Smoke-Free Air Act. 

The lawsuit argues that New Jersey’s exemption for casinos, which allows smoking in venues where most other indoor workplaces are covered by the statewide ban, violates the New Jersey State Constitution. The legal challenge contends that the exemption effectively provides a special carveout benefiting casino corporations, despite the constitution’s prohibition against laws that confer special favors on corporations.

In August 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the casinos, allowing smoking to continue inside the nine gambling halls.

Alongside the litigation, the group has sought political action in the Legislature, where supporters say a majority backs a bill that would end casino smoking. Workers have also been working behind the scenes with lawmakers from both parties to try to get the bill posted for additional votes beyond the preliminary approval it received nearly two years ago.

Under current rules, smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City. Workers argue that the permitted areas are not contiguous and that the layout results in secondhand smoke being present in varying degrees throughout the casino floor, including in areas designated as nonsmoking.

The lawsuit was filed last April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars, and Tropicana casinos. The UAW and Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) say the exemption leaves casino employees exposed to secondhand smoke while most other workers in New Jersey are protected by the statewide law.

New Jersey casino workers pushing for a permanent ban on smoking in their workplaces held a rally in Trenton on Monday as the legal fight moved forward. A hearing was held to discuss the lawsuit seeking to end the exemption.

“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing CEASE and the UAW on Monday.

“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers,” added Smith.

Casino operators have warned that banning smoking could come with steep economic consequences. The casinos have said that thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in gambling revenue and tax collections could be lost if indoor smoking ends.

Workers dispute those projections, calling the warnings overblown and arguing that smoking has become less central to casinos’ profitability. They also contend that it is fundamentally unfair for casinos to be virtually the only workplace in New Jersey where indoor smoking is allowed.

A separate proposal in the Legislature would keep smoking on 25% of the casino floor but would alter where it is allowed. Under that competing bill, no employee would be required to work in a smoking area against their will.