SJM Resorts Ltd, the Macau casino operating unit of Hong Kong-listed SJM Holdings Ltd, has been authorised by the Macau government to assume control of the L’Arc Hotel (pictured). The downtown property is the host venue for the Casino L’Arc Macau, which has been a satellite under SJM Resorts’ gaming licence.
The approval came via a dispatch signed by Macau’s Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raymond Tam Vai Man, published in the city’s official gazette on Wednesday.
SJM Holdings will spend HKD1.75 billion (US$224.8 million) to acquire the L’Arc Hotel and its gaming venue, as announced in late November. The deal was approved by SJM Holdings’ shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday (December 15).
As a result, Casino L’Arc Macau will no longer be managed under a service agreement as a satellite casino, and it will be absorbed into SJM Holdings’ core gaming operations as a self-owned and self-operated gaming venue.
The land where the L’Arc property is located features a 62-floor tower, for use as residential, hospitality and commercial space. The portion being transferred to the SJM group includes a total area of nearly 86,098 square metres (926,751 sq. feet), from the basement to the 22nd floor, encompassing the hotel and casino.
The deal was also cleared by Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and the city’s tourism office, according to the dispatch published on Wednesday.
Under regulatory changes parallel to the city’s new gaming concessions that started in January 2023, the legacy arrangements for satellite business will not be possible from the end of this year. Most satellite casinos have been under an SJM licence.
Satellite venue Casino Landmark, part of the New Orient Landmark Hotel on Macau peninsula, is due to cease operations on December 30, according to SJM Resorts.
Following the closure of Casino Landmark, Macau would no longer have any satellite gaming venue in operation.
