Galaxy Entertainment to close two satellite casinos
Galaxy Entertainment has announced that Rio Casino and President Casino will close today (June 16). Casino Waldo will continue to operate.
Macau.- Rio Casino and President Casino, two satellite casinos run by Galaxy Entertainment Group, will close their doors today, June 16. The group will only continue to operate Casino Waldo as a satellite casino.
The company said in a statement in that the workers of both casinos will be transferred to other units of the concessionaire with the same employment conditions.
It said: “They will also be provided with a series of vocational training to help them adapt to the new working environment.
“GEG would like to thank the public, customers and people from all walks of life for their love and support of Rio Casino and President Casino over the years and will continue to contribute to the development of leisure tourism in Macau.”
Prior to the announcement, there were 18 satellite casinos in Macau operating under licences attached to one of the six casino concessionaires but run by third parties on individually owned premises.
In recent weeks there have been doubts about how many satellite casinos will close their doors amid changes in Macau’s gaming legislation and an upcoming licence retender. Doubts continue despite changes in the draft law to allow satellite casinos to continue operating even if the property on which they are located is not wholly owned by the gambling franchisee.
Kwok Chi Chung, the president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, told Exmoo News that he knew six to eight satellite casinos were expected to cease operations by the end of June.
However, Macau’s chief executive, Ho Iat Seng, has said that few satellite casinos would go out of business and that there would not be a significant impact on employment. He also said that the SAR government was closely monitoring the unemployment situation.
See also: Macau casino contract extensions to be signed on June 23
Vote on Macau’s gaming law amendment bill could take place on June 21
The final version of Macau’s gaming law amendment is expected to be sent to the plenary for voting likely on June 21.
The second standing committee signed its final draft on June 15 after government legal advisors made some last-minute changes to the draft. One of the most important changes involves the shareholder participation at which point shareholders may not hold interests in another concessionaire.
Chan Chak Mo said: “Concessionaires, as well as shareholders with an amount equal to or greater than five per cent, may not directly own any capital of another concessionaire…
“That is, they cannot hold even one per cent directly, while indirectly they cannot hold a stake greater than five per cent. With this change, the Government can prevent collusion among concessionaires to strengthen their competitiveness.”
