Mount Airy officials also declined through a spokeswoman to discuss the change with Penn Bets, although a company marketing representative said in an interview last November that “feedback has been overwhelmingly positive” to the no-smoking policy then in effect. Rules on smoking fall under state law set by the legislature rather than regulations dictated by the gaming board.
It’s not clear when or why the policy changed, however, as gaming board staff and commissioners did not delve into the issue during questioning at the hearing. That is the case in nearly all of Pennsylvania’s 16 casinos under an exemption for them carved out in the state’s indoor smoking law, but it was not true at Mount Airy in late 2021 and early 2022.Īt some point this spring, indoor smoking resumed at the property - its website even touts that with a “Smoking is permitted on the casino floor in designated smoking areas” message at the top of its homepage.
Mount Airy Casino Resort stood out months ago as one of few casinos in Pennsylvania to ban indoor smoking, but a state hearing last week for its periodic licensing renewal made clear that’s no longer the case.Ĭasino officials confirmed at the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board public hearing in Monroe County that smoking is again permitted in designated areas on up to half of the gaming floor.
