The Labor Affairs Bureau of Macau (DSAL) is progressively advancing a support program for employee transition triggered by the business adjustments in satellite casinos and slot halls, with further implementation strengthening from June 2025. The program aims to buffer the employment impact caused by the restructuring of the gaming industry, and assists employees in transitioning smoothly through focused briefings and job matching sessions.
According to information released by DSAL, the labor department has jointly inspected 10 satellite casinos and 3 slot machine shops, requiring gaming concessionaires to hold employee briefings to explain their labor rights and transition plans. To date, 52 briefing sessions have been held, involving a total of 4812 employees, including 4457 employees seconded by concessionaires, and 355 directly employed by satellite casino operators.
The briefings have covered about 93% of the seconded employees and about 43% of the directly hired staff, showing preliminary progress in employee communication by the officials.
Meanwhile, the Labor Bureau is also advancing job transition placements. It has coordinated with the three major Macau gaming operators—Macau Resorts, Galaxy Entertainment Group, and Sands China—to hold 7 specialized job matching sessions. These recruitment events offer various employment directions, including marketing, customer service, catering, culinary, facility management, and environmental sanitation positions.
About 423 employees participated in the aforementioned matching activities, supervised on-site by representatives from the Labor Bureau, who also provided immediate employment consultation services to ensure employees receive guidance and support when facing job transitions. The Labor Affairs Bureau stated that it will continue to follow up on the progress of the recruitment events and supervise the proper arrangement of employment by gaming companies to prevent a vacuum in labor rights.
However, officials have not yet announced how many satellite casino employees have completed specific job transitions or placements. Hong Kong-related institutions estimate that the current wave of satellite casino closures will affect about 5600 Macau residents. Among them, 4800 were employees of licensed satellite casino companies, and 800 were directly employed by casino owners. Additionally, about 400 non-local employees are also affected.
Facing the employment shocks brought by structural adjustments in the gaming sector, Macau authorities are actively coordinating resources to reduce social impacts and are attempting to carve new paths for employees highly dependent on the gaming industry. The coming months will be a critical window for implementing effective measures.
