Macau has become the leading gambling hub in the world, attracting the richest of the richest business men from across the globe, as well as a large share of gambling interested tourists. But the success comes with a price it seems, as seven out of 10 casino’s are worried about potentially losing their employees.

The research was done by Marsh LLC, a US based risk management company, who asked risk managers and company executives which issues they see affection their business the most. The main issue for Macau is the low unemployment rate, which currently sits at 1.7%, which means that there is a constant need for new employees and nowhere to get them from, except stealing them from other casinos.

This means that casinos are finding it difficult to keep the talented employees they have, as other casinos are offering better packages for them to attract them to their company. Around 22.7% of the total work force in Macau works in gambling related areas and around 30% works in the gaming and hospitality industry.

This means that new casinos opening in the region might end up opening with a lot less tables than they originally planned, simply because they cannot find sufficient employees to cover the jobs. While the casinos will fly in staff from abroad, it is crucial to have local staff as well, to cater to the local Chinese gambling crazy people.

Steve Wynn stated in March that he would give his 7,500 non-senior staff company shares in Wynn Macau Ltd, as a benefit to keep the employees in the casino. While it may work on a short-term basis, it is probably only a matter of time before other casinos does something similar, or better, and attracts staff from other casinos.