Not all Macau satellite casino jobs will be guaranteed

It appears that only those directly employed by the casino concessionaires will be relocated. Workers hired by the satellite casinos may be laid off.

Macau.- It is not yet clear what will happen to Macau’s satellite casinos following the reforms proposed in the draft of the new gambling law, but rumours of mass layoffs persist. Kelvin Choi Kam Fu, director of the Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff’s Association has told Macau Daily News that he’s been informed that employees hired directly by satellite casinos will be laid off if the casino closes.

He said only those employees hired by a concessionaire will be rehired again and relocated to other hotels, possibly in othe roles. Also, according to Kelvin Choi Kam Fu, in some cases, staff will keep their previous salary package if they agree to be transferred to other departments.

Kam Fu expressed some concern for those hired directly by the satellite casinos and stressed that the government should take action on the matter and should give priority to local residents.

Legislator Ella Lei Cheng I has also called on the government to ensure employees keep their jobs in the transition to new legislation.

The latest draft of Macau’s proposed new gambling legislation has been changed to allow satellite casinos to continue operating even if the property on which they are located is not wholly-owned by the gambling franchisee.

However, analysts, gaming labour groups and some legislators have expressed concern about the future of satellite casinos and a possible increase in unemployment if they close.

There are currently 18 satellite casinos in Macau operating under licences attached to one of the six casino concessionaires but run by third parties on individually owned premises. Seven of them plan to suspend operations by mid-year.

New details emerge about future of satellite casinos

As previously reported by Focus Gaming News, Lei Wai Non, Macau’s secretary for economy and finance, has warned that if a franchisee decides to close a satellite casino, it is unlikely that it will be able to reopen it later.

According to Lei Wai Nong, the draft law states that if the casino operator behind an existing satellite venue decides to close its gaming business for legal reasons or due to the concession agreement requirement, it will not be able to reopen it at the same location. However, the draft bill does not clarify what happens if another concessionaire wants to reopen a closed satellite casino.