Interview by Armindo Neves
Since the city’s last satellite casino closed last Tuesday night, the Landmark Casino in Zape, the area’s most severely impacted stakeholders are the surrounding businesses, as many of their customers were gamblers.
On June 9 last year, the government announced that all 11 remaining satellite casinos in Macau would close for good by December 31, 2025 and that the respective gaming concessionaires that formally owned the satellite casinos in conjunction with third-party operators would be required to continue employing all their current local employees working there after the closures.
On June 17, Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Yau Yun Wah told reporters that there were about 160 businesses in Zape, most of which then relied on satellite casino customers. He noted that at that they were already facing “transition challenges”. While the government has repeatedly pledged to stimulate Zape’s economic vitality through events and also to support the area’s businesses’ transformation, Yau emphasised that market forces would ultimately determine commercial outcomes.
The Post yesterday interviewed a number of business owners and their employees in the area.
“Zape” is the Portuguese acronym for Outer Harbour Land Reclamation Zone.
A salesman surnamed Lei who works for a western pharmacy, said that the satellite casinos not only provided livelihoods for thousands of employees but also brought a steady flow of patrons to surrounding businesses, creating a unique community ecosystem. He criticised the government’s strategy to close over a dozen satellite casinos within just a single year, describing the measure as “overhasty”, which had led to the decline of the surrounding commercial areas, large-scale unemployment, and insufficient time for market adjustment. Lei said he believed that the government should have pursued a “differentiated” approach instead, based on operational conditions, and by phasing out the satellite casinos step by step.
Angelia, a saleswoman who works for a luxury goods shop, said that since the closure of the surrounding satellite casinos, the shop’s customer flow has plummeted by at least 80 percent, with some days seeing no customers at all. She said that, previously, the area’s clientele primarily consisted of gamblers and tourists brought in by the casinos. After their closure, even hotel accommodation options were affected, she said, leaving the entire street deserted. Angelia also said that government-installed holiday decorations, such as Christmas trees, and a food market, had done little to attract visitors, drawing only a handful of local residents “da kat” (the Chinese term for photo op places) and failing to attract tourists who would actually spend money there.
Yan, her nickname, who owns a snack shop, said that since the closure of the satellite casinos, both foot traffic and revenue for her shop have dropped by approximately half, placing significant operational pressure on her business. Yan said she believed that the government’s “one-size-fits-all” decision to shut down the satellite casinos proved to be too abrupt, directly cutting off the customer base and making it increasingly difficult for surrounding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to survive. At this point, Yan said, she can only wait and observe the situation for a while. If the business situation does not improve, she would consider closing her shop for good.
Pedestrians walk in a car-free street in Zape yesterday next to the now-defunct Landmark Casino which closed at the end last month. – Photo: Armindo Neves
