Macau urges casino operators to increase wages in 2024 if conditions are right

Macau’s secretary for economy and finance says there is room for operators to increase salaries by 2 to 3 per cent.

Macau.- Secretary for economy and finance Lei Wai Nong has advocated for an increase in pay at gaming operations in the upcoming year. Addressing queries during a Legislative Assembly session focused on the 2024 Policy Address, Lei said he favoured salary adjustments if gaming companies had the necessary conditions. He clarified that the government lacks the authority to mandate such changes for the six casino concessionaires.

Lei noted that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Pay and Benefits Survey published last month found room for private sector entities, including casino operators, to raise salaries by 2 to 3 per cent. This aligns with the overall salary adjustments anticipated for the private sector in Macau in 2024.

Earlier this month, the Macau Government anticipated that the city’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2024 will amount to MOP216.0bn (US$26.8bn).

In October, Macau’s GGR was up 30.6 per cent month-on-month and 400.2 per cent from last October. Cumulatively, Macau’s GGR for the first ten months of 2023 stands at MOP148.44bn (US$18.44bn), up 315.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. For full-year 2022, Macau’s casino GGR was down by 51.4 per cent year-on-year at MOP42.19bn (US$5.25bn).