Macau casinos have reopened their doors following almost half a day of suspension caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa.
All tropical cyclone signals caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa were cancelled at 06:00am on September 25th, with the immediate prevention stage also terminated. The storm, the strongest this year, greatly impacted Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and the south of mainland China.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) mandates a temporary suspension of gaming activities if a tropical cyclone signal 8 is raised to protect the safety of residents and visitors, with a signal 8 hoisted in the SAR since 4:00pm on September 24th.
A dispatch indicated now that all casino operations could resume starting from 2:00am of September 25th.
Maritime services between Macau and Hong Kong also resumed this morning, with the first trips to Macau’s Outer Harbor and Taipa departing from Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan at 7:30 a.m., while the first trips to Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan will depart from Macau’s Outer Harbor and Taipa at 9:00 a.m.
Macau has a history of rare but significant casino closures in extreme circumstances. In September 2018, authorities shut all casinos for 33 hours during Super Typhoon Mangkhut, marking the first full shutdown in history.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, casinos were closed for 15 days in February 2020 and one week in July 2022. More recently, Typhoon Saola in September 2023 led to a nine-hour full closure.
Citigroup previously further reduced its gross gaming revenue (GGR) forecast for Macau in September 2025 to MOP18.5 billion ($2.3 billion) due to Super Typhoon Ragasa, marking the second downward revision this month as weather concerns compound earlier softness in casino performance.
