Macau Casino Operators to Pay “Annual Rent” for Gaming Areas In 2023

Summary

• The annual fee starts at MOP750.00 in 2023
• It will be adjusted for the next two years based on Macau CPI
• The annual base rent will increase to MOP2,500.00 from 2026

Macau’s six casino operators will be required to rent back their gaming assets from the government as their new 10-year concessions take effect. The new scheme will see each operator pay an initial fee of MOP750.00 (US$93.30) per square meter of the gaming space they occupy. That base fee applies for the first three years, subject to adjustments according to the average consumer price index (CPI) in Macau.

The annual rent, termed as “utilization fee”, will increase to MOP2,500.00 per square meter for the fourth year. From thereon, any changes to the fee will be based on the charges paid in the preceding year, with the CPI also taken into account.

Macau Concessionaires Reveal the Details

SJM Holdings Ltd, the parent company of SJM Resorts Ltd, said it will pay approximately MOP69.0 million in “annual utilization fee” to the Macau government from 2023 to 2025, subject to yearly adjustments.

That figure covers its gaming assets at Casino Lisboa, Casino Grand Lisboa, Casino Grand Lisboa Palace and Casino Oceanus at Jai-Alai.

From 2026 onwards, the fee will increase to approximately MOP229.3 million, which will also be updated annually until the end of the concession in 2032. SJM Holdings Ltd bared the figures in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In a press release, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd said it will pay an estimated MOP57.9 million in initial fee in 2023 for its gaming assets at Studio City Casino, City of Dreams Casino and Altira Casino. That amount will also be adjusted annually under similar terms.

The parent companies of the four other casino concessionaires in Macau – MGM China Holdings Ltd, Wynn Macau Ltd, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and Sands China Ltd – also published the same details regarding the annual rents but did not divulge the approximate annual fees they’re going to pay to the government.

MGM China runs two gaming venues in the region, located at MGM Macau and MGM Cotai. Wynn also operates casinos at its Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace Cotai properties. Galaxy Entertainment will pay utilization fees for its casinos at StarWorld Hotel, Galaxy Macau and Broadway.

The same goes for Sands China which runs casinos at Sands Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and The Venetian Macao. While the company did not disclose the annual rent it will pay for its gaming assets, it earlier stated in its interim 2022 report that its gaming venues occupy approximately 136,000 square meters. Therefore, Sands is expected to pay around MOP102 million in initial utilization fee.