Golden Group, a Macau junket operator, announced it will close its three VIP rooms in Casino Lisboa on 31 July. Golden Hall, Golden Club and Grand Hall will continue operations until 30 July. This leaves the casino with no more VIP rooms and some employees will be moved to the other venues.

Golden Group has eight VIP rooms in total. The remaining five are all located on different floors in Casino Grand Lisboa, which is a property of SJM Holdings.

The decision to close VIP rooms in Casino Lisboa was because the venues generated low income and didn’t have enough business to withstand the pandemic lockdown.

Golden Group thanked customers for their support but stated downsizing is needed in order to remain competitive in Macau’s junket market.

The situation will likely continue if tourism in the region doesn’t pick up. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicts that Macau’s VIP revenue will fall by 97% in the year-on-year three-month period to 30 June 2020.