Originally due to finish on 18 July 2022, the closure of the region’s casinos is now scheduled to end on 23 July.
Macau’s Government intends to distribute $1.24bn to businesses affected by the shutdown, as the region's 41 casinos are expected to lose $1bn during the current period of closure.
The real worry, however, is that Macau’s current outbreak will continue to persist past this point.
The Government is closely following mainland China’s zero Covid-19 policy in its application of social distancing measures. Should local cases continue to be reported, Macau’s Covid restrictions will persist too.
As part of the local lockdown, authorities have suspended all dine-in services and called a stay-at-home order for all but essential travel.
Furthermore, KN95 masks specifically must be worn when leaving the home for essential goods and services.
At present, several Cotai casino resorts have made themselves available as quarantine destinations.
The Studio City resort and Broadway Macau were the most recent locations to add themselves to the list, adding over 1000 rooms to the region’s quarantine capacity.
Fun88 launches website in Vietnam from its Philippines server
Fun88 has launched its fun88zone.net website in Vietnam.
The operator has launched Vietnamese operations by updating the link to its site from its server in the Philippines.
Players in Vietnam will now be able to enter the operator’s site through fun88zone.net and access Fun88’s full suite of offerings, including sports betting, slots, baccarat, blackjack, poker, lottery and virtual sports betting.
The Fun88 app is free to download in Vietnam and comes with live chat support in six different languages: Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, English, Thai and Indonesian.
The operator will take deposits from local banks Vietcom bank, Vietinbank, ACB and Agribank. In addition, e-wallet services MOMO, Viettel Pay and Scratch card are available on the Fun88 site.
Macau’s Government intends to distribute $1.24bn to businesses affected by the shutdown, as the region's 41 casinos are expected to lose $1bn during the current period of closure
Suncity Group proposes name change to LET Group
Suncity Group has proposed a name change to LET Group in its latest stock filing.
The change is subject to several conditions including the passing of a special resolution by Suncity shareholders and ratification at an extraordinary general meeting of the company.
A registrar of associated companies in the Cayman Islands must also approve the proposed change of company name.
The group has attributed its change to the upcoming development of its new integrated resort in the Philippines.
Suncity says the L in its new name will stand for Leisure, E for Entertainment and T for Taste.
Despite the junket’s reason for its name change, it is clear the arrest and indictment of its former CEO Alvin Chau would have played a major role in its decision to rebrand, especially as the company attempts to transition from junket to casino operator.
Genting Singapore “not aware” of any takeover bids
Genting Singapore has announced it is unaware of any potential takeover bids for its Resorts World Sentosa property.
Reports emerged last week suggesting MGM Resorts International had approached the Lim family – the controlling shareholders of Genting Singapore – to sound out the cost of acquiring its stake in the business.
Although Genting says it was not approached, the group did confirm its Executive Chairman and controlling shareholder Lim Kok Thay – of the Lim family – had recently received an unsolicited approach from an interested party.
It can be assumed this party is MGM Resorts and, as things stand, no deal was reached between the operating giant and Lim.
However, it has been suggested that MGM is free to continue its pursuit of Genting Singapore with an improved offer.
Jumbo Interactive expects 27% revenue increase for FY22
Australia’s Jumbo Interactive says it expects to report a 27% revenue increase to AU$103.8m (US$70.9m) for FY22.
The lottery business will release its FY22 preliminary results to the market on 26 August 2022, noting that the figures “reflect strong double-digit growth across all key performance metrics.” The company also expects underlying EBITDA to increase by 14% to AU$54m, and underlying NPAT to increase by 16% to AU$31.6m.
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