Lewis Pek Editor


Comment


November 2022


I was at the ECA Casino Industry Forum last month, which was held at stunning Casino Baden in Austria, listening to the presentations from all the speakers. We have a breakdown of the event within our pages this month, which gives a concise overview of the iproblems forefront in the minds of the land-based sector.


One of the topics discussed between the presentations, lunches, dinners, and Viennese cultural events and receptions, was the staffing issue facing each and every operator in Europe at this time. Some of the operators attending the Forum claimed that staff shortages ranged from 10-30 per cent depending on the location, with acute shortages in most city centre locations. The mantra asked by practically everyone, was where have all these people gone?


We know that Covid has reshaped the workforce, with WFH becoming ingrained in the business practices of the world’s businesses both big and small. It’s also become part of the employment contracts for new and existing recruits as the expectations of the workplace have changed post-pandemic. However, the consensus at the Forum was that during Covid people removed from their long-


ATTENDING THE ECA CASINO FORUM IN BADEN, THE MANTRA ASKED BY OPERATORS: WAS WHERE HAVE ALL OUR STAFF GONE?


term roles in the hospitality sector found alternatives that proved to be more attractive. These new roles pay the equivalent or better, they provided more flexible and less unsocialable hours, and they offered the possibility of WFH.


How to lure them back is the issue, and one that presents its challenges, not least the need to restock funds during the lean years of Covid. However, without more attractive offers, both in terms of cash and perks, the prospects of coaxing back the absent workforce remains slim – and it’s a specifically tricky problem as we face cost of living pressures, rising bills and a smouldering recession. How to balance the operating needs of the casino with the volume of staff needed to meet the service expectations of players, with the squeeze on all pressure points of the business? Answers on a postcard please…


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G3 Magazine Editor Lewis Pek


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Contributors Oron Barber, Stefan Sbordoni, Ivan Kurochkin, Sophia Balashvili, Duncan Faithfull, Brooks Pierce, Yordan Georgiev, Plamen Slavov, Nik Robinson, Tom Wood, Alex Ratcliffe, Vadim Potapenko, David Newstead, Andrew Crosby, Robert Lee, Carlo Cooke, Ivan Kravchuk, Brad Rose, Micheal Bauer, Almir Kudic, Nikolay Illiustrov, Callum Sultana, Julian Borg-Barthet and Raphael Di Guisto.


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