Gaming Goes Mobile: What Happens to the Workforce?

The gaming industry is experiencing a shift. For decades, the business ran through the physical venue: the casino, the bingo hall, the slot machine, the table, and behind each one, a person. Today, a large part of that activity is moving to the phone. Online gaming is growing at a pace that land-based gaming never experienced, and that transformation, which is usually measured in terms of technology and revenue, has a side that is mentioned much less: that of employment.

Because every time a venue reduces its activity or closes a sector, there are workers caught in the middle. We are already seeing discussions in different provinces about job continuity when traditional gaming venues or areas close. It is not a forecast: it is happening. And it is worth looking at it head-on, because it is a phenomenon that is just beginning.

Two ways to read the same change

Faced with this, there are basically two possible attitudes.

The first is to treat the transition as a cost problem: the land-based sector shrinks, there is excess staff, it gets reduced. This is the simplest and most short-sighted interpretation. And it has a trap: by letting go of those people, the organization also lets go of years of business knowledge, customer relations, and accumulated expertise. That cannot be recovered with a platform.

The second is to understand the transition as what we in human resources call a reskilling process. The staff of a physical venue is not an obstacle to the digital world: they are a foundation upon which to build. A cashier, a supervisor, someone in customer service, they know the business and they know the player. Many of those skills are transferable to the online environment—customer service, operations management, problem gambling detection—if someone takes the time to train and adapt them.

Reskilling doesn't happen on its own

Digital transformation does not merely consist of incorporating platforms, data, and new technologies. It also involves reviewing positions, training teams, identifying transferable skills, and creating development opportunities.

Now, let's be clear: reskilling is not just talk, it is work. It requires a decision from the organization, a training plan, and time. Not all profiles can be reskilled for the same position, nor does everyone want to do it. But even when workforce reduction is inevitable, there is a huge difference between managing it with foresight and support, versus leaving it up to conflict.

Here the role of people management is central. Anticipating what profiles will be necessary in the upcoming operation. Identifying who, from the current team, can make that leap with the appropriate training. And communicating the process with transparency, because few things wear down a team as much as uncertainty about their future. The transition can be done well or it can be done poorly, and that difference is largely determined by how human capital is managed.

An opportunity, if you know how to read it

There is something else, and it has to do with geography. In a federal country like Argentina, land-based gaming is, in many provinces, a source of genuine and deeply-rooted employment, especially in the interior. The transition to online does not have to mean the hollowing out of those jobs: it can be the occasion to develop new functions, new profiles, and retain talent in the region that is already trained. But that does not happen by inertia. It happens when there is a decision to manage it.

Ultimately, the shift from land-based to digital gaming is inevitable, and it is not about resisting it. It is about deciding what we do with the people who sustained this business for years. We can treat them as a cost to cut, or as capital to reskill. The first option is faster. The second is the one that builds a more solid, more human, and, in the long run, more sustainable sector. Technology will continue to advance. The question is whether we are going to take the people with us or leave them behind on the road.

* Julio César Uliassi holds a degree in Human Resources Management and is a consultant in labor relations and human capital in the gaming and entertainment industry. With more than 20 years of experience in the sector, he works closely with operations and the people who sustain each venue, focusing on the work environment, middle management, and the transition from land-based to online gaming.