Macau’s Grand Emperor to cease satellite casino operations

This comes after an announcement by Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited of its decision not to go ahead with the renewal of the service agreement with SJM Resorts, which was tasked with operating the casino outside the Grand Emperor Hotel walls under a special satellite casino agreement since 2010.

Most recently, Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited had decided to extend the original service agreement between the two parties for another 2 years in 2020, which now coincides with the 26th June 2022 contract expiry between the two parties.

Despite the recent application by all six Macau concessionaires to extend their licences for another 6 months until the end of the year (31st December 2022), the decision to cease operation was also greatly fuelled by reports that an extra 7 satellite casinos might be shut down this year with 4 of them being currently operated by Golden Dragon Group.

Adding to this, the Macau SAR Government is currently working on a new gaming law that only allows future satellite casinos to be located within properties that are owned by a concessionaire. This move that is currently making its way through the legislative assembly shall greatly impact the satellite casino business.

In spite of the fact that Grand Emperor is one of the most well-known land-based casinos in Macau and is located in a wonderful location just a short distance from SJM’s Grand Lisboa, the company has recorded losses in the past year which has forced them to cease all gaming operations once the contract has expired.

Despite the tough times being experienced by the company, Grand Emperor shall keep its hotel doors open and continue to offer hospitality services. This statement can be confirmed after the company acquired two serviced apartment blocks and a hotel in Hong Kong in 2021. The board mentioned that they shall continue to look for viable opportunities to utilise their liquid resources in a bid to expand in the hospitality industry.

The board further added that due to the strategic position of Macau and Hong Kong, which are both found within the Greater Bay Area, the future could only look promising, especially in the hospitality sector, after the relaxation of the pandemic restrictions and the re-opening of the borders.

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