Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Tai Kin Ip, said Monday that concessionaires must fully absorb all employees from satellite casinos currently operating under their gaming concessions once those satellites close down at the end of the year.
His comments come after it was revealed that the three concessionaires in question – SJM, Galaxy and Melco – would cease all satellite casino operations by end-2025, although SJM will look to acquire two of its existing satellite sites in Ponte 16 and L’Arc.
Tai Kin Ip noted during a government press conference on Monday evening that the city’s satellite casinos currently have a total of 5,600 local employees, of which about 4,800 are employed by gaming concessionaires and assigned to work in satellite casinos. About 800 are directly employed by satellite casinos of which around 400 are foreign workers.
Regarding the impact on businesses around satellite casinos, Tai pointed out that after multiple on-site inspections by the government of businesses and SMEs around satellite casinos, there are approximately 320 directly related businesses.
“About half of these businesses may be directly affected, primarily pawnshops, jewelry stores, tobacco and alcohol retailers, and mobile phone shops,” he said.
Tai also noted that, regarding loan issued to satellite casinos, the total amount borrowed accounts for less than 1% of total loans in the banking sector and any issues related to their ability to make repayments would therefore not have a significant impact on the economy.
He added that the gross gaming revenue of those satellites “is not convenient to disclose” but accounts for a “low single-digit percentage” of total revenue.
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