Smoking Bans Begin in Spain

The Spanish government has just set up a new and strict ban on smoking in all of Spain's public areas, including restaurants and bars. The punishment, if caught smoking is harsh, but even more so if caught outside more sensitive areas such as hospitals and schools.
In response to this, multitudes of businesses across the country have applied for licenses to allow smoking in specifically designed areas. One of the industries that is very concerned with allowing smoking to continue is the widely spread casino businesses, which are renowned as being smoky areas. Despite their petitions, casinos have been refused permission by legislators. This refusal has given rise to great dissatisfaction to casino operators as well as the clients.

According to research done by the Spanish Ministry of Health, 30% of the population smokes, meaning that the remaining 70% are exposed to second-hand smoke. The country has found that there are 55,000 diseases connected to smoking that occur each year.

Hotels have been allowed a license for smoking areas, which stipulate that 70% of the rooms stay as smoke free rooms, despite the fact that the ban on smoking demands that all private hotel rooms stay smoke free.
Land based casino operators are worried that customers will lose interest in their casinos, since so many of the regular players are habitual smokers. The loss of these smoking players could amount to a serious loss of revenue for the casino industry.

The contrary can be said for online casinos operators who believe that smokers will turn to them for their gambling amusement, since online gambling offers them the chance to play while smoking in their own homes.