Casinos Could Suffer Due to Cuts in Childcare Benefits

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 10/11/2023

Jane Shaw Senior Editor See Full Bio

We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.

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Cuts in Childcare Benefits

The end of September marked a very difficult time for workers in many industries, particularly casino workers.

The so-called ‘childcare cliff’ came into play at the start of October, and it has basically resulted in a wide range of childcare benefits being cut. This will have a huge negative impact on many parents as well as businesses, and casinos could find themselves struggling when it comes to their workforces and revenues.

Since the global pandemic, many casinos have struggled to get new recruits on board to make up their teams, and this includes workers in all departments.

The situation is now set to get worse, and this is due to the impact of enhanced government subsidies for childcare in the United States. Billions of dollars were invested by the government in various schemes in 2021, but the programs are now ending.

In addition, casinos could find themselves losing out on revenue as parents make cutbacks to their spending as a result of the childcare cliff.

What This Means for Parents and Casinos

The impact of this will be huge for both parents and casinos, along with a wide range of other businesses. It means that over three million children who were receiving some form of care no longer receive this.

In addition, more than 230,000 people who worked in childcare will lose their jobs. The closure of over 70,000 programs that were providing care to children has also been confirmed.

According to recent data, around 40 percent of adults in the United States live with their children who are under 18 years of age. It is claimed that for those who work in the gambling industry, the percentage could be higher. This means that the cuts in childcare benefits and programs could have a huge negative impact on casinos.

Furthermore, casinos will most likely have to weather the storm of people having less money to spend as a result of the childcare cuts. Officials said that even if casinos find a way to help their own employees through the crisis, they will have to cope with the impact on their customers. According to PlayUSA:

Lost wages result in less expendable income. Among the first cuts people make in response to a drop in expendable income is to their entertainment budgets. It’s a snowball effect that threatens both the bottom line and workforce of casinos in the US.

It means that the impact on casinos could be two-fold, as it will not just be the workforce that is affected by the changes, but also customers.

Casinos Could Invest in Childcare Programs

Officials have said that one thing casinos can do to soften the blow is to invest in childcare programs of their own to help workers with childcare needs. This will help in one respect, as it will enable casinos to better protect the workforce.

However, they will still have to deal with the fallout of parents who work in other industries having less money to spend on activities such as gambling due to increased costs.