In a recent session of Macau’s Legislative Assembly, a group of lawmakers asked the government to help people left unemployed by the closure of casino VIP rooms.
According to Macau Business, during the December 16 legislative session, lawmaker Ron Lam asked that authorities “take the initiative” and cut quotas for non-resident workers to “free sufficient and adequate jobs for local workers” at the city’s casinos.
Suncity, by far the biggest VIP junket operator in the territory, shut down recently following the arrest and imprisonment of its founder, Alvin Chau. Chau was charged with illegally promoting gaming on the Chinese mainland and setting up an internet platform that let mainland bettors place remote wagers. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal.
Suncity rival Tak Chun, the second largest junket operator in Macau, predicted in an internal statement that some “individual casinos” would temporarily suspend their relationship with the company, meaning more worker layoffs.
Following Chau’s arrest, casino operators throughout the city distanced themselves from junket operations, which cater to high rollers by arranging credit, securing transportation and otherwise ensuring elite service.
Suncity employees were left high and dry after the closure of the group’s VIP rooms, and have yet to be paid for November because company accounts are frozen under the investigation. The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) has received hundreds of requests for assistance from former employees.
“Many workers in the sector are concerned and uneasy about the possibility of becoming unemployed,” said another legislator, Ngan Iek Hang. “At the same time, many problems arose that make citizens worried, for example, will the other businesses in the Suncity Group be affected? Will the other VIP gaming promoters be cut and activities in VIP rooms be suspended? (Will there be) a wave of unemployment … that can destroy social stability?”
Such hardships are especially difficult these days, “in an already unfavorable economic and employment environment under the pandemic,” Ngan said. “It is not known whether this group of people can be fully absorbed that soon.
“I hope that the government will continue to closely monitor the development of this case and its impact on the local labor market and that it will actively intervene … with a view to protecting the rights and interests of workers and helping them alleviate concerns,” Ngan added.
Lam cited employment numbers published by DSAL which indicated that the number of local workers at the six gaming concessionaires dropped from 76,950 in March of last year to 74,600, in June of this year, a reduction of more than 2,300 workers. In the same period, the number of non-resident workers of the six concessionaires has decreased by about 7,000, with the number of non-resident workers at 19,920.
Junket-run VIP rooms inside casinos made up roughly a third of Macau’s overall gaming revenues in 2019, according to Alidad Tash, managing director at 2NT8 Limited, a consultancy specializing in international casinos and integrated resorts.
Meanwhile, Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong has said that junket operators will still be allowed in the future, provided they “fulfill all legal requirements.” Analysts say the market now will have to rely on mass and premium-mass players for long-term sustenance.
