Macau Jockey Club signs termination agreement with government

The Macau Jockey Club signed an agreement with the Macau government on the morning of January 15, 2024 to terminate its horse racing concession contract, and held a press conference that afternoon at its Taipa racing building¹. The club will stop all racing and end race related operations from April 1¹.

It cited a shrinking market for horse racing in Macau, the decline of the sport, and the effects of the three years of the pandemic as reasons it could no longer continue operating¹.

Board chairman Angela Leong signed the termination documents with the government in the morning but did not appear at the afternoon press conference¹. Directors Kok Lok I and Kong Ieong, a director and company secretary, both lawyers, read out a Chinese and Portuguese press release in one direction only, and no questions from the media were taken¹. Horse owners, members and company staff attended¹.

The club said it will keep its current members' facilities open for members to continue using¹. It will hold briefings for staff in an orderly way, offer assistance and job referrals to affected employees, and pay compensation under labor law¹. It said it will communicate with horse owners within days on the details and help them deal with the horses' futures before a deadline¹.

What it means for players

Members' facilities remain open to members, but the club has not said whether any betting is involved in that¹. The club has not reported what happens to outstanding bets, accounts or any other wagering products, and no details on those have been reported¹. For a wider picture of what remains available in the territory, see Can I Gamble in Macau? and Betting on Horse Racing in Macau. Racing elsewhere in the region is covered in Horse Racing and Betting in Asia, and jockey club style members' venues in Members' Clubs With Gambling in Asia.

What happens next

Staff briefings, assistance, job referrals and labor law compensation are to follow¹. Talks with horse owners on the horses' futures are to take place within days, before a deadline¹.