Two more “satellite casinos” will close for good soon, namely Emperor Palace Casino and Waldo Casino, which will cease operations after midnight on Thursday and midnight on Friday respectively, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced in a statement yesterday.
They are two of the nine satellite casinos currently still in operation in the city.
The government announced in June that in compliance with the three-year transition period stipulated by the new legislation amending the gaming law, all of the city’s then 11 satellite casinos had decided to close for good by December 31 this year. Grandview Casino in Taipa, which closed for good in late July, was the first of them to cease operations.
Afterwards, Grand Dragon Casino, also in Taipa, closed for good last month, the second one to cease operations.
Emperor Palace Casino and Waldo Casino will be the third and fourth to cease operations. After their scheduled closures later this week, there will still be seven satellite casinos in Macau.
The so-called satellite casinos in Macau are formally owned by gaming concessionaires but are actually run and managed by third parties as they are housed on premises that are not owned by the respective gaming concessionaires.
The satellite casinos are currently operated under partnership models where the respective gaming concessionaires and third parties share the revenues.
According to the gaming law’s newly amended version, all casinos must be housed on premises that are owned by their respective gaming concessionaires.
The new legislation amending the gaming law stipulates a three-year transition period, which started on January 1, 2023, during which existing satellite casinos can continue operating under their current partnership models.
After the three-year transition period, which is scheduled to end on December 31 this year, all satellite casinos must close, unless the respective gaming concessionaire chooses to hire a “management company” to operate the casino, but such a management company is only allowed to receive a management fee from the respective gaming concessionaire, not share the revenue.
According to June’s government announcements, the three respective gaming concessionaires, SJM, Galaxy, and Melco, decided to terminate the operations of all 11 satellite casinos before the expiration of the transition period based on their respective commercial decisions, comprising Grandview, Legend Palace, Fortuna, Landmark, Ponte 16, Le Royal Arc, Emperor Palace, Kam Pek Paradise, and Casa Real owned by SJM, Waldo owned by Galaxy, and Grand Dragon owned by Melco.
Yesterday’s DICJ statement announced that after business negotiations, Emperor Palace Casino’s third-party operator and SJM decided to terminate the operations of the casino after 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, i.e., no operation from Friday.
The statement also announced that after business negotiations, Waldo Casino’s third-party operator and Galaxy decided to terminate the operations of the casino after 11:59 p.m. on Friday, i.e., no operations from Saturday.
The statement pledged that the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, in collaboration with the Labour Affairs Bureau, will ensure that SJM and Galaxy fulfil their respective promise to ensure the employment of those working at Emperor Palace Casino and Waldo Casino after their closures.
According to the statement, there are currently 71 employees working at Emperor Palace Casino and 111 working at Waldo Casino.
A taxi is parked outside Grand Emperor Hotel in Nam Van district last night where Emperor Palace Casino is located. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
This undated file photo shows Waldo Hotel in Zape where Waldo Casino is located. – Photo courtesy of TDM
