Macau casinos to halt gambling as Typhoon Mangkhut bears down

Macau’s casinos are on their first official city-wide shutdown order as Typhoon Mangkhut bears down on the special administrative region of China.

Earlier this week, as the so-called ‘super typhoon’ began tracking a path towards southern China, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau met to determine whether or not it had the authority to order the temporary closure of all casinos, given the expectation that Mangkhut’s fury could threaten local lives.

Apparently, that answer was ‘yes,’ as Macau’s Civil Protection Operations Center issued an order on Saturday that calls for all casinos to “suspend all gambling activities” effective 11pm. The government further advised all casino operators to implement the agreed upon typhoon contingency plan to protect both casino staff and guests.

Earlier Saturday, the government announced that it had granted requests from four small SJM Holdings-licensed casinos to suspend their operations as Mangkhut drew closer. All border crossings with mainland China will close at 1am and ferry services have been suspended.