Macau’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), has confirmed that Casino Ponte 16, a satellite venue linked to the licence of SJM Resorts Ltd, officially ceased operations in the early hours of Saturday (November 29).
The closure had already been flagged by SJM Resorts, a unit of Hong Kong-listed SJM Holdings Ltd.
Following the casino’s final business day, at 11:59 pm on Friday, the regulator “immediately suspended gaming table operations” at the property and carried out all required formalities, stated the regulator.
The official closure of Casino Ponte 16 followed “established procedures,” the DICJ added.
The shutdown was overseen by the regulator, “which coordinated closely with multiple government departments to ensure legal compliance” and was carried out in an “orderly manner,” it added.
The regulator said it would continue to optimise its inspection mechanism, in order to “promote the healthy and orderly development” of the city’s gaming industry.
The satellite system utilised by Casino Ponte 16 – under which third-party investors were permitted to share gaming revenue with licence holders – will no longer be permitted from 2026.
The SJM group said a fortnight ago that it decided not to proceed with the previously-announced plan to acquire the Ponte 16 casino hotel complex.
The casino concessionaire said at the time that it had signed a “mutual termination agreement” with Pier 16 Entertainment Group Corp Ltd regarding the closure of Casino Ponte 16.
Hong Kong-listed Success Universe Group Ltd is a joint venture partner, with SJM Resorts, in Ponte 16, a property at Macau’s Inner Harbour district. SJM Resorts controls a 51-percent stake in Pier 16 Entertainment Group.
SJM Resorts also said that “all gaming tables and gaming machines” at Casino Ponte 16 would be “redeployed to other casinos of the company to ensure service continuity for customers”.
A June press release from SJM Holdings had mentioned nine SJM-licensed satellites as of that date. Since then, five venues have already ceased operations.
Another one, Casino Kam Pek Paradise, will cease operations at 11.59pm on Monday (December 1). The venue is run by Hong Kong-listed Paradise Entertainment Ltd.
GGRAsia reported last week that SJM-licensed Casino Fortuna is due to shut down on December 10, and with the company still to publicly announce a date for the final day of operations at Casino Landmark.
Only one SJM group satellite, Casino L’Arc, will be absorbed into core operations, with SJM Holdings set to pay HKD1.75 billion (US$224.8 million) to acquire L’Arc Hotel, the home of that casino.
