The President of Unifor Local 444 says those who were working at the sports betting counter at Caesars Windsor have been shuffled due to hours being cut.
James Stewart says there wasn't any forced layoffs at Caesars Sportsbook, and there are still plenty of positions available in the casino for them to move to.
Stewart says the betting kiosks will still be available 24/7, but that the Sportsbook itself is mainly used during peak times and big sporting events.
He says when there aren't any big sporting events the Sportsbook isn't very busy.
"They made adjustments now to reduce the hours of the desk. So the desk is now open consistently around peak seasons, peak timings, and peak events. However, when there's no peak sports going on, it's a kiosk. The kiosk is open 24 hours."
Stewart says there was no forced layoffs as a result of this change.
"They made have to adjust again whether that be increasing the hours or not, they're looking at it to make sure, they're trying to give what they think their customers want. For our members there was some shuffling in the plant, no one was forced to layoff, there's still openings in the plant where they could use their seniority to go in different positions, but no one was forced to layoff."
He says people still love the atmosphere of the casino but sports betting is mainly done online.
"There's a lot of sporting apps available where people can do their betting through an app, and I think that's where a lot of the people that would've taken up a lot of the casino action - that's what they're doing specifically for sports. But again, we're still finding that through peak times there's still an interest in the sporting traffic for betting."
As of 2022, Unifor Local 444 represents approximately 1,800 employees.
Susanne Tomkins, a spokesperson with the casino, stated to AM800 News on Wednesday that after careful review of the sports betting trends, the operating hours of Caesars Sportsbook have been altered, but that all staff have been retained.