Melco Resorts & Entertainment will cease operations of its only satellite casino, Grand Dragon Casino, before the end of the year, the company has confirmed. It will also shut down three of its slot machine clubs operating under the Mocha Clubs brand.
Grand Dragon Casino and three Mocha Clubs venues in question – Mocha Hotel Royal, Mocha Kuong Fat and Mocha Grand Dragon Hotel – will all cease operations before the end of 2025, Melco said in a Monday press release, stating that its decision was made “after considering the company’s overall development strategy and in accordance with Macau law.
Employees working at the venues will be assigned to work at other properties run by the company in Macau, while gaming tables and electronic gaming machines operating at the affected venues will also be re-allocated to other casinos or gaming areas of the company in Macau.
However, Melco explained that it plans to continue running three Mocha Clubs venues after 2025 and will apply for the relevant authorizations and approvals from the Macao SAR Government in order to do so. Those venues are Mocha Inner Harbour, Mocha Hotel Sintra and Mocha Golden Dragon.
Melco is the first of the three concessionaires currently operating satellite casinos in Macau to publicly announced their plans for the controversial satellites, whose futures have been in doubt ever since the government announced new restrictions governing their operations that will come into effect from 1 January 2026. Those restrictions include a mandate that all casinos must be located within immovable properties owned by the concessionaire and that the companies operating satellite casinos on behalf of concessionaires can no longer engage in revenue share agreements with their concessionaire, to be paid a management fee instead.
A three-year grace period allowing stakeholders time to prepare for the transition expires at the end of this year.
There are currently 11 satellite casinos operating in Macau, with nine running under the concession of SJM Resorts and one each under Melco and Galaxy Entertainment Group.
IAG recently published a deep dive analysis of the satellite casino situation in Macau including a closer look at each of the 11 properties in question.
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