Singapore is entering what many are calling a golden stretch for live entertainment. With multiple music festivals and headline concerts already announced, the stage is set for some of the biggest performances in recent years. This flurry of activity comes just ahead of the 2025 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, which in itself is gearing up to be much more than a motorsport event. As noted by The Straits Times, three music festivals plus the F1 spectacle will jointly fill September and October with live-music energy.
Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd. has had its long-term issuer default rating outlook changed from Stable to Negative by Fitch Ratings, though its rating at ‘BB-’ has been reaffirmed. The revision reflects what Fitch describes as “heightened uncertainty” around the company’s deleveraging efforts. Specifically, Fitch projects that SJM’s EBITDA leverage will rise above 8× in 2025, up from about 7× in the previous year, with a goal of bringing leverage down to under 5× by 2027.
A newly intensifying corruption scandal in the Philippines is drawing in casinos, government officials, and anti-money laundering authorities. Senator Panfilo Lacson has alleged that several former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) lost around PHP 950 million (≈ US$16.6 million) in casinos across Metro Manila, Cebu, and Pampanga. The suspicion is that these gambling losses are not just losses, but part of a more complex scheme involving money laundering, where ill-gotten funds from anomalous flood control projects are being funneled through casinos to disguise their origin. The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has confirmed that it will probe the casinos mentioned in connection with the case.
Macau’s government has collected MOP 61.88 billion (≈ US$7.71 billion) in gaming-tax revenue in the first eight months of 2025, an increase of 5.3% year-on-year. In August alone, tax receipts from gaming stood at around MOP 8.51 billion. Under Macau’s current 10-year gaming concession regime, which took effect from January 1, 2023, casinos are taxed at an effective rate of 40% on gross gaming revenue (GGR).
MGM China Limited has announced that it will pay up to HK$200 million (about US$25.7 million) to Shun Tak Holdings in 2025 under its Fourth Renewed Master Service Agreement to use Shun Tak’s hotel rooms and related services in Macau — a HK$20 million (≈ US$2.6 million) increase over the previously agreed cap. The hotels involved in this agreement include the Mandarin Oriental Macau and the Artyzen Grand Lapa. The revision reflects MGM China’s forecasted growth in offsite gaming accommodation demand, and higher-than-expected room purchases under the agreement.
Author: Janice Chew • Friday, 12/09/2025
