EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE

Friday, April 15, 2011, 5:00am

Contact: Clyde W. Barrow
CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS Tel: 508-999-9265

NEW ENGLAND RESIDENTS PREFER SMOKE FREE CASINOS

Smoking ban on gaming floors is likely to give Massachusetts a competitive

advantage against Connecticut and Rhode Island gaming venues

The conventional wisdom among casino industry executives is that smoking prohibitions
result in lower casino visitations and, hence, lower gaming revenues, but a survey of New
Englanders by the Center for Policy Analysis (CFPA) at the University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth finds that a majority of this region’s residents would prefer resort casinos
where smoking is prohibited on the gaming floors.

The CFPA’s New England Gaming Behavior Survey, a random sample poll of 3,839
adult residents in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode
Island, found that half (50%) of respondents who had participated in some form of legal
gambling in the last twelve months say they are more likely to visit a casino where
smoking is prohibited on the gaming floor, while 35% state that it does not matter, and
only 15% say they would be less likely to visit a casino where smoking is prohibited on
the gaming floor. The poll’s margin-of-error is 2.2% at a 95% confidence interval.

__________________ New England residents

Smoke-free gaming floor? ALL MA CT ME NH RI
More likely to visit casino 50% 48% 54% 45% 54% 51%
Does not matter 35% 36% 32% 44% 38% 34%
Less likely to visit casino 15% 16% 14% 11% 8% 15%

Among gamblers who had actually visited a casino or racino in the last twelve months,
53% said they are more likely to visit a casino where smoking is prohibited on the
gaming floor, while 32% said it does not matter, and only 15% say they would be less
likely to visit a casino where smoking is prohibited on the gaming floor.

Smoke-free gaming floor?

Visited casino in the past 12 months Have not visited casino in 12 months
More likely to visit a casino 53% More likely to visit a casino 47%
Does not matter 32% Does not matter 41%
Less likely to visit a casino 15% Less likely to visit a casino 12%

The second public release of findings from the CFPA’s biennial New England Gaming
Behavior Survey (NEGS), entitled “Place Your Bet II: The Potential Regional
Competitive Advantage of a Non-Smoking Policy for Massachusetts Casinos,” asked
respondents:

“All things being equal in terms of size, gaming options, and distance
from your home, if smoking was prohibited on the gaming floor, would
you be more likely or less likely to visit a casino where smoking is
prohibited, or does it not matter?”

Dr. Clyde W. Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis, and the poll’s
supervisor, stated: “The survey results indicate that the Massachusetts legislature was on
the right track last year when it passed an expanded gaming bill requiring that 75% of
gaming floor space be smoke free in Massachusetts.”

Casino and racino operators in Connecticut and Rhode Island have successfully blocked
smoking bans at their gaming venues in the past, but according to Barrow, “this is a
misguided policy that may come back to haunt them if Massachusetts authorizes resort
casinos with a significant smoking prohibition.”

The expanded gaming debate in Massachusetts has frequently been driven by the idea of
recapturing the jobs and tax revenue generated by Bay State spending on casino gaming
in adjacent states, but Barrow observed that prohibiting smoking on Massachusetts’
gaming floors “may actually provide Massachusetts casinos with a unique opportunity to
attract gamblers living in Connecticut and Rhode Island, who by large majorities, prefer a
smoke free and healthier environment.”

In fact, the survey found that 54% of Connecticut residents who have gambled in the last
year are more likely to visit a casino with a smoke free gaming floor, while 51% of
Rhode Island’s gamblers are more likely to visit a casino with a smoke free gaming floor.
According to Barrow, the poll results suggest that “resort casinos in western and
southeastern Massachusetts with substantially smoke free gaming floors would have a
distinct competitive advantage against existing gaming venues given their proximity to
Connecticut and Rhode Island.”

While the survey results defy conventional wisdom in the casino industry, Barrow said
“the results should not surprise anyone, because a large majority of Massachusetts
residents do not smoke and the same is true in other New England states.” According to
the 2007-2008 Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,
only 16.1% of persons aged 18+ smoke in Massachusetts, while the percentage of
smokers is 15.9% in Connecticut, 17.4% in Rhode Island, 17.1% in New Hampshire, and
18.2% in Maine.

“All things being equal,” Barrow said, “a large majority of non-smokers in New
Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut are going to choose Massachusetts casinos
over those in Connecticut and Rhode Island when assessing their gaming options.”

Among women, who constitute the majority of slot machine players at New England’s
casinos, 57% prefer a smoke free gaming floor and, consequently, it comes as no surprise
that 55% of casino patrons who primarily play slot machines also indicate that they
would be more likely to visit a casino where smoking is prohibited on the gaming floor in
comparison to 48% of table games players, who prefer a non-smoking gaming floor. Slot
machines typically account for 70% of a resort casino’s gaming revenues.

Smoke-free gaming floor? Men Women

More likely to visit casino 44% 57%
Does not matter 38% 33%
Less likely to visit casino 18% 10%

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment, and higher incomes, are more
likely to prefer a smoking prohibition on the gaming floor, and it is this demographic that
most frequently gambles at resort casinos in New England.

Smoke-free gaming floor? <HS High School Only Some College/AA BA+
More likely to visit casino 23% 45% 46% 59%
Does not matter 61% 39% 38% 28%
Less likely to visit casino 16% 16% 16% 13%

Smoke-free gaming floor? <$45K $45-75 $75-150K $150K+

More likely to visit casino 40% 47% 59% 55%
Does not matter 42% 37% 30% 29%
Less likely to visit casino 19% 16% 11% 16%

For a copy of the full report of the poll results go to:

http://www.umassd.edu/seppce/centers/cfpa/ Click, What’s News! on left side of page.

"Place Your Bet II" is the second public release of findings from the New England Gaming Research
Project's fourth biennial New England Gaming Behavior Survey. The New England Gaming Behavior
Survey is conducted every two years, and complements its annual New England Casino Gaming Update
(NEGU 2011) with a random sample telephone survey of residents in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The survey measures public opinion about gambling, the propensity to
gamble, and the demographic characteristics of casino and racino patrons, including the types of games
played by casino visitors, and other patterns in gambling behavior.
The New England Gaming Research Project is funded entirely by the UMass Dartmouth School of
Education, Public Policy, and Civic Engagement.

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