Macau, China, Aug. 25, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau's gambling operator SJM Holdings announced on Tuesday that its losses had widened to 294.7 million Hong Kong dollars (€32.2 million) up to June, due to the closure of eight ‘satellite casinos'.
In a statement, the company founded by gambling magnate Stanley Ho Hung Sun (1921–2020) reported a loss of 294.7 million Hong Kong dollars (€32.2 million) between January and June.
In a statement sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the concessionaire said this loss represents a 61.7% increase over the same period in 2025 and is four times higher than in the first quarter of the year.
SJM, which ended 2025 with a loss of 429 million Hong Kong dollars (€47.2 million), remains the only casino operator in Macau ‘in the red'.
As the gambling capital of the world, Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. Six operators are active in the territory, with contracts valid until the end of 2033.
SJM emphasised that January–June was the first period in which the company operated all of its gaming venues under a direct management model, following the closure of the ‘satellite casinos'.
The ‘satellite casinos', which fell under the remit of the concessionaires, were managed by other companies; they were a legacy of Portuguese administration and had existed prior to the liberalisation of gambling in the territory in 2002.
When the government amended the legislation governing casinos in 2022, it set the end of 2025 as the deadline for these gaming venues to cease operations.
In June, the government of the Chinese region announced that the gambling concessionaires had notified the closure of all 11 ‘satellite casinos', including nine under the supervision of SJM.
However, SJM has only closed eight ‘satellite casinos', as the company acquired the Casino Royal Arc for 1.75 billion Hong Kong dollars (€195.2 million) and obtained authorisation from the government to manage the venue directly.
«Mainly due to this transition», revenue at SJM's casinos fell by 18.5% to 12.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (€1.32 billion), the group acknowledged.
According to official figures, revenue from all Macau casinos in the first half of 2026 reached 126.9 billion patacas (€13.9 billion), an increase of 6.8% compared with the same period the previous year.
As a result, SJM's market share adjusted from 11.9% in 2025 to 9.8% in the first six months of this year.
Nevertheless, SJM's chairperson, Daisy Ho Chiu-fung, argued, as quoted in the press release, that there are reasons for optimism, thanks to greater «control over the customer experience, cost structure and quality of profits (...), with the benefits already reflected» in operational performance, the executive noted.
Following the acquisition of Royal Arc, SJM's debt rose by 3.1% in the first half of the year, to 30.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (€3.3 billion).
VQ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
