SJM Resorts Casinos

Casino Lisboa, Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai and Casino Jai Alai: the venues covered

SJM Resorts, S.A. is the Macau concession holder inside the SJM group, and its licensed venues include Casino Lisboa, Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai and Casino Jai Alai². These are the three names most visitors ask about, and they are not the same place.

Casino Lisboa is the original SJM property on the Macau peninsula, the one most people picture when they hear the name. Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai is the newer building, which launched in December 2009 with a full set of electronic table systems installed at opening³. Casino Jai Alai is the older Jai Alai venue, listed in SJM's concession contract going back to 1997 alongside Casino Lisboa, Macau Palace Casino, Kam Pek Casino, Oriental Casino, Golden Dragon Casino, Hyatt Casino, Triumph Casino and Holiday Inn Casino⁶.

So if someone tells you to meet them at "the Jai Alai casino," ask which one. The Oceanus building and the Jai Alai building are separate addresses, and you do not want to be standing in the wrong lobby.

What you can play

SJM's Macau floors carry the standard table games you would expect in a Macau casino: baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and the local games that Macau is known for. An archived DICJ regulator page records the scale of SJM's operations as of 31 December 2004⁷.

Slot machine centers sit inside ten SJM casinos, plus the Casa Real Hotel Mocha slot center, the Canidrome slot center and the Taipa Hotel China Jubilee slot center⁷. If you want machines rather than tables, those are the rooms to look for.

Opening hours and entry

All SJM casinos open 24 hours a day, every day of the year². There is no closing time to plan around, and no ticket or cover charge. You walk in, show ID if asked, and you are on the floor.

The practical points:

• Minimum age: 21. This applies to everyone, including visitors. Bring your passport, since that is the ID Macau casinos accept from foreign visitors.
• Entry cost: free.
• Dress: smart casual is the safe default. No swimwear, no bare feet.
• What to bring: passport, and cash or a card if you plan to play.

Who can go in

Macau casinos are open to visitors and to non-resident players. Macau residents who work in the gaming industry face restrictions on entering casinos, and casino staff generally cannot play on their own property. If you are a visitor from anywhere in Asia, you are the audience these floors are built for.

14 satellite casinos run by third-party promoters

Beyond its own flagships, SJM Resorts operates 14 satellite casinos run by third-party promoters¹. These are separate venues that carry the SJM license but are run day to day by promoter companies.

The satellite list includes Babylon, Royal Tower, Landmark, Diamond, Emperor Palace, Fortune, Golden Dragon, L'Arc, Grand Diamond, Wan Long, the Ponte 16 area, Legend, Fai Wong and Yu Long, among others named in the group's reporting¹. The concession terms also list nine permitted venues, most of which (Landmark, Royal Tower, Fortune, Emperor Palace, Ponte 16 and Legend) are the same satellites already named above, along with Kam Pek, Royal Golden Dragon and Macau Triumph².

Practically, this means the SJM name covers a lot of floors across Macau, not just the three headline casinos. If a taxi driver drops you at a smaller casino with an SJM sign, it is likely one of these.

No online or telephone gaming: what SJM does not operate

This is the part that catches people out. SJM Holdings states plainly that it does not operate any online games, whether as operator or sponsor, and does not take part in any phone or online contests, prizes or lotteries⁴.

That matters because unauthorized people use the SJM Holdings and SJM Resorts names to run phone and online contests, prizes and lotteries that ask victims to send money in advance to claim winnings. SJM has never authorized these, and it reports the scams to Macau authorities and, where applicable, to the Hong Kong Police⁴. The company also states it is not responsible for any prize money or offers claimed by unauthorized companies or persons, nor for any loss or damage from giving personal data or money to them⁴.

So the rule is simple: if a website, message or phone call says you have won something from SJM and asks you to pay a fee first, it is not SJM. There is no SJM online casino to sign up to, and no SJM betting site.

Getting between the venues: the SJM Express shuttle route

Macau casinos run free shuttle buses from the border crossings and from tourist hotspots, and you can ride them to reach the properties⁵. This is the standard way visitors move between the peninsula and Cotai without paying taxi fares.

For SJM specifically, the shuttle service connects the group's properties with the main arrival points. The practical approach:

1. Arrive at a border crossing or ferry terminal. Free casino shuttles are available at the entry points and at some tourist spots⁵.
2. Find the SJM or Grand Lisboa bus. Staff at the bay will point you to the right one.
3. Ride to the property. The buses drop you at the casino entrance.
4. Move between SJM venues on foot or by taxi. Casino Lisboa and Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai are both on the peninsula and close enough to walk between if you know the way.

Route lists change, so check the board at the shuttle bay rather than relying on a schedule you read months ago.

MGM Cotai casino: operations suspended until further notice

MGM Cotai is not an SJM property, but it comes up often enough alongside these names that it is worth stating clearly. In October 2022, the casino at MGM Cotai was listed as suspended until further notice, along with the hotel restaurants, the shops inside the hotel, and all gatherings inside the hotel⁸. The hotel also stopped accepting new guests at that time⁸.

The same notice covered on-site quarantine for casino and hotel staff and hotel guests from October 30 to November 1⁸. A government notice from the same period confirmed the hotel restaurant and hotel shops were suspended from operation and all gathering activities in the hotel were suspended⁹.

This followed the wider Macau closure order of July 2022, when the government ordered casinos and all non-essential businesses to suspend operations from July 11 to July 18, later extended to July 22¹⁰.

If you are planning a trip around MGM Cotai, check its current status directly before you go. For the SJM venues covered here, the position is different: they are separate properties under a separate operator.

Practical details for a first visit

A few things that make the first trip smoother.

Getting there. Casino Lisboa and Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai are on the Macau peninsula, which is where most visitors arrive from the Hong Kong ferry or the Gongbei border. Casino Jai Alai is also on the peninsula. You do not need to cross to Cotai for any of the three.

What to bring. Your passport. Macau casinos ask foreign visitors for passport ID, not a driver's license or a photocopy. Carry it with you.

Money. Macau uses the pataca, and Hong Kong dollars are widely accepted on casino floors. Bring cash for tables, and expect ATMs and cages inside the properties.

Time. Because the floors never close², you can go at any hour and get the same access. Mornings are quieter, evenings busier.

Age checks. The minimum age is 21, and it applies to visitors as well as residents. Security checks ID at the entrance, and again if you look young.

If you are coming from mainland China. Macau is a separate gaming jurisdiction, and mainland residents face their own rules on cross-border gambling. Check your own position before you travel.

Other Macau and Asia options

If you are comparing Macau properties, Grand Lisboa is the SJM flagship next door to Casino Lisboa, and StarWorld Hotel and Casino and Galaxy Macau are other peninsula and Cotai options. Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace cover both sides of the city, and City of Dreams Macau is on the Cotai strip.

Outside Macau, Marina Bay Sands Casino and Resorts World Sentosa Casino are the two Singapore properties, and Resorts World Genting is the Malaysian hill resort. In the Philippines, Solaire Resort Entertainment City and Okada Manila are the big Entertainment City names. In Vietnam, Hoiana Casino and The Grand Ho Tram take foreign-passport holders.

For the wider picture on mainland China, see Can I Gamble in China? and Casinos in China: Who Can Go In.