Government signals 6-month extension of Macau gaming licenses

Macau's government has indicated it intends to extend the current gaming licenses by six months, moving the expiry from 2022-06-26 to 2022-12-31, according to a report in the Chinese-language newspaper 新華澳報¹. The indication came as the Legislative Assembly discussed a draft revision of the gaming law and as multiple satellite casinos moved to close¹.

The report said seven satellite casinos in NAPE and Taipa plan to shut down around the middle of 2022¹.

The other three are Galaxy-licensed venues: Casino Waldo, Casino Rio and Casino President¹. The report attributed the list to Chinese media outlet Allin Media and said more satellite casinos could follow in the months ahead¹.

The revised gaming law under discussion requires future casinos to be located in premises owned by the gaming operator, with a three-year transition period that lets operators establish new cooperation arrangements with satellite casinos¹. That means operators may need to acquire some or all of the 18 satellite casinos if those venues want to keep operating¹. If the concessionaire a satellite casino currently depends on wins a new license in the upcoming tender, the three-year transition period counts from the first day the new license takes effect¹. The reported six-month extension would push that start to early 2023¹.

The report said the current six operators appear unlikely to acquire many satellite casinos, because satellite venues lack the scale of the operators' own integrated resorts¹.

What it means for players

The reported extension keeps Macau's existing six operators running under their current licenses past the original June 2022 expiry, so the casinos themselves are not scheduled to lose their right to operate on that date¹. The closures described affect satellite casinos, which are smaller venues operating under another company's license rather than holding one of their own¹. For anyone planning to visit a specific satellite casino in NAPE or Taipa, the report indicates several are expected to shut around mid-2022, though the venues named have not been confirmed as closed¹. The revised law's requirement that casinos sit in operator-owned premises, and the three-year transition period attached to it, shape which satellite venues can keep running and under what arrangements¹. Details such as the exact closing dates of the seven venues, and whether the license extension has been formally approved, have not been reported¹.

What happens next

The reported extension would run the current licenses to 2022-12-31, with the three-year transition period for satellite casinos potentially starting in early 2023 if the relevant concessionaire wins a new license¹. The report said additional satellite casinos could announce closures in the coming months¹.