As reported by all of the major news outlets, Macau-based brick and mortar casinos were the first to be negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As a direct result of the virus outbreak in China, all Macau casinos were forced to temporarily shut down their doors for fifteen days as one of the measures employed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the area.

As of today, Macau-based casino operators are facing new challenges following the local government imposing entry limits to visitors to these casinos in order to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. In late March, Macau’s officials and the government announced that they have decided to bar entry to all visitors to Macau casinos who are not residents of Macau and to those who have visited other countries in the previous two weeks.

New Measures to Minimize Spread of the Coronavirus

Very similar restrictions related to visitor entry limits to casino facilities were imposed on all international arrivals just last week, but visitors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China had not been included in these measures. However, Macau’s government has been forced to employ new measures and to act quickly after it was confirmed that several new cases of COVID-19 were brought into this area of China.

As reported, these new COVID-19 infection cases were brought by individuals who had contacted the highly-contagious virus outside of the special administrative region of China. Before Macau’s government employed these measures, Hong Kong announced that it will employ similar restrictions concerning international arrivals including visitors from Macau. As of late March, returning residents of Macau, as well as residents of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China who have visited any foreign counties in the past fourteen days, have to spend fourteen days in quarantine after arriving in Macau.

Eight Hotels Turned to Temporarily Medical Facilities

Residents of mainland China who have not visited other countries including Taiwan and Hong Kong will have to undergo medical checkups at facilities that are operated by Macau’s government. Moreover, Macau’s government also announced that the Grand Lapa Hotel will act as a temporary medical facility for observing patients infected by the virus and for observing those who may be infected.

This temporary medical facility or the four hundred and the thirty-five-room hotel is actually the eighth venue of this kind to be designated by Macau’s government as a medical facility which brings the number of rooms at the disposal for treating COVID-19 patients to almost two thousand and two hundred. All of these two thousand rooms are used for treating critically-ill COVID-19 patients who have developed serious complications such as pneumonia.

Commenting on the news about entry limits to visitors to casinos in Macau, chief executive for the region Ho Iat Seng decided to cast some shade at hotel facilities who had not offered their hotel rooms for medical use despite the fact that Macau’s government is willing to pay the full room fees. He said that the government does not want to utilize hotel venues in those integrated resorts until necessary and until the last minute, but it is really challenging to deal with the shortage of medical facilities today. He also added that the government would appreciate every hotel that agrees to give its space for medical purposes.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited is one of the leading Asian casino operators whose boss just recently shared his thoughts on what the future might hold for Macau. The company is an owner, operator, and developer of entertainment and casino facilities across Asia. Melco Resorts Entertainment Limited is based in Hong Kong. It has been present in the industry since 2004.

Today, the company owns several fully integrated casino resorts such as the Studio City Macau property, City of Dreams Manila, City of Dreams Macau, and Altira Macau. At the time of its inception, Melco International Development decided to enter a joint venture with Crown Limited which is an Australian gaming company. This marked the establishment of Melco Crown Entertainment Limited which was rebranded as Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited back in 2017.

Speaking of the company’s business ventures, Melco Crown acquired a 60% share in the Studio City Macau venue which is a luxurious, resort project located on Cotai. Following new legislation related to the industry in Japan, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited submitted its official application to the government of Osaka in hopes to be given necessary permissions to construct and run a fully integrated casino resort here. However, in 209 the company decided to focus on the Yokohama market.

Difficult Times for the Macau Casino Industry

Macau Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Lawrence Ho Yau Lung just recently decided to share his thoughts on what the future may hold for Macau casinos. In one of his official press releases, he said that it could take a long time for the Macau gambling industry to fully recover from the extremely negative impacts of the most recent Wuhan virus outbreak which caused all of Macau casinos to temporarily close their doors for at least fifteen days.

According to one report by GGRAsia, he made this revelation during a conference call with major investors who at the time discusses his company’s fourth-quarter financial outcomes. As previously mentioned, the Hong Kong-listed Macau Resorts and Entertainment Limited company is responsible for a number of casino resorts and several of them are located in Macau including the Studio City Macau venue and City of Dreams Macau.

The company also runs the City of Dreams Manila facility in the Philippines and it is also hoping to soon open its five hundred-room City of Dreams Mediterranean development located in the village of Tserkezoi. Lawrence Ho Yau Lung told major investors that his company anticipates Macau to remain quiet for a long time following the Wuhan virus outbreak. He also told investors and shareholders that in his opinion the gambling industry in Macau will most likely face a number of other difficulties over the following four to six months.

Macau VIP Sector to Rebound First

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung also believed that the Macau VIP sector will be the very first to rebound as it is dependent on high-value players that come from all over Asia to Macau. After the conference was held, the company’s officials also revealed that the firm’s Macau properties stood at around $2.5 million regarding daily expenses while the company’s tally was lower for around $500,000 than before following the company initiating cost-cutting efforts and reductions in other costs across different business levels.

As reported by GGRAsia, the company’s fourth-quarter financial outcomes also show a 3% increase in operating revenues which hit $1.45 billion mainly thanks to the company’s performance related to its mass-market businesses. Nonetheless, the casino operator also posted a 46% diminution in income for the last three months which hit $68.1 million. At the same time, the company’s operational equivalent decreased by around 15% to reach $173.4 million while its earnings before amortization, depreciation, tax, and interest declined for around 4% to reach $409.8 million.