WEEKLY FEATURE: Macau Gaming Operators Announce Satellite Casino Closures

Macau gaming concessionaires this week announced that all 11 satellite casinos in the city are marked for closure before the end of the year.

WEEKLY FEATURE: Macau Gaming Operators Announce Satellite Casino Closures

It’s the beginning of the end of the satellite casino industry in Macau. This week, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Galaxy Entertainment Group and SJM Holdings announced that the 11 satellites operating under their licenses will close by the end of 2025.

Melco will close its Grand Dragon Casino and three slot lounges operating under the Mocha Club brand. In a news release, it said the closures are in line with “the company’s overall development strategy and in accordance with Macau law.”

Galaxy announced it will close the Waldo Casino “due to commercial considerations.”

SJM will shut down nine satellites this year in support of its “long-term objectives [and] overall competitiveness.”

All three pledged to offer new job opportunities to the estimated 6,000 employees affected by the change.

In 2022, the Macau government amended its gaming laws, giving satellites three years to shift from a profit-sharing model to a structure in which they are directly owned by licensees. SJM plans to acquire and continue to operate two of the properties, Ponte 16 and L’Arc Macau, shifting them to the directly managed model.

The Macau Labor Affairs Bureau has promised to “closely monitor the situation” to ensure operators make good on their pledge to reassign employees.

Articles by Author: Marjorie Preston

Marjorie Preston is a staff writer for Global Gaming Business. She is a writer, editor, author and expat Pennsylvanian who now considers herself a New Jerseyan. Based on Brigantine Island north of Atlantic City, Preston has been writing about the gaming industry since 2007, when she joined the staff of Global Gaming Business as managing editor of Casino Connection.

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