Switzerland says no to the complete no smoking prohibition in public places, and in the meantime Spain, also due to the multimillionaire investments promised by the casino baron Sheldon Adelson, wants to revise the very strict law in force.
A "useless and extreme" initiative, which would “expose jobs to a risk" and would reduce "taxes paid by casinos to AVS and to the Cantons". Christophe Darballay, president of the Swiss Federation of casinos, was clear branding the popular initiative 'Protection from passive smoking' that about fifty associations, leaded by the helvetic pulmonary Association, finally managed to put to the vote. And last 23 of September, with a high rate of abstentionism, Swiss citizens rejected the measures to completely ban smoking in public places, providing for a worsening in comparison of what the law came into force in May 2010 ordered and that required considerable investments from the companies, in order te be in accordance with the law.
Apparently, the smoking argument is still capable to inflame minds, even if it seems strange in Italy which, though it is contentious on many other spheres, willingly accepted the Sirchia's law that from January 10, 2005 banned cigars and cigarettes in public places, including of course those dedicated to gaming. There was a period of adjustment, especially in the gaming locations where a person spends a lot of time, and where the couple slot-cigarette or cigarette-roulette was almost a tradition, but then managers and customers, willingly or not, adapted themselves.
But obviously one thing is to ban smoking, but allow it in dedicated areas equipped with technological devices ad hoc, another matter is to forbid it without further explanations. They wanted to do that in Switzerland, but 66 percent of voters was against it. On the contrary in Spain casinos, bingo and slot rooms since last year must deal with the severe restrictions imposed by the new law, that once it got his hands on the ticklish question, wanted to do it in a very drastic way.
We wonder if the result of the Swiss vote is not a further weapon in the hands of those in Spain who would like to debate the existing prohibitions. Of course now also Sheldon Adelson, the american baron of Las Vegas Sands, supports this battle, and finally he announced his final choice about the location of Eurovegas, of which we are talking about for months: the Independent Community of Madrid, Alcorcon to be precise (but a final decision has not yet made). Among the various conditions made, (as they seem to the outside observer, although the Spanish government quickly pointed out that any favour won't be made to Adelson, rather that they are creating better conditions to attract foreign investments), there is the one to allow smoking in the casinos of the rising Eurovegas. The Ministry of Health ensured that (still) there wasn't any request for changing the law and, in case, certainly would be interesting to know the terms. The other Spanish casinos, who certainly are not favourable to the arrival of a hardened competitor as Lvs, hopes in fact that at least the 'conditions' of Adelson will be in force for everyone. And therefore everyone can smokes in all the casinos, at least in dedicated areas (especially because it will take years before the first casinos of Eurovegas can open the doors) and certainly not just in the ones of the rich baron.
The fact is that at least for the moment, the health-fanatics at all costs was defeated, and it was peraphs an even more stinging defeat because it has been obtained in the healthy Switzerland: "The victory of No - Luca Antonini, director of the Lugano casino affirms - shows that the arguments of the opponents to the initiative (including casinos) have been understood by the majority of voters, who in this way avoided a further penalisalition for Swiss companies active in the fields of food and entertainment, in a period of severe economic crisis"