SJM Holdings Ltd has moved to proactively manage its balance sheet by offering to repurchase a portion of its senior notes due in January 2026, while simultaneously proposing the issuance of new US-dollar-denominated senior notes as part of a broader debt refinancing exercise. The move underscores the Macau concessionaire’s intention to smooth near-term maturities and extend its debt profile at a time when financing conditions remain selective for gaming operators. The proposal is aimed at bondholders of the existing notes, offering liquidity and flexibility ahead of the upcoming maturity window.
South Korea’s Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL), a state-affiliated operator of foreigner-only casinos, posted KRW 36.30 billion (about US$25.1 million) in casino sales for December 2025, a 6.4 % decrease compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the company’s filing to the Korea Exchange. The result also marked a 13 % sequential drop from November, reflecting softer year-end demand in some segments of the gaming business. Table-game revenue, which accounts for the majority of sales at GKL’s three Seven Luck casinos, fell 7.4 % annual, while **machine-game sales rose **5.6 % year-on-year yet slipped month-on-month compared with November.
South Korea-based Paradise Co Ltd, a leading operator of foreigner-only casinos, revealed that its December 2025 casino sales reached approximately KRW 75.42 billion (US$52.1 million), marking a 7.6 % year-on-year increase, according to a regulatory filing with the Korea Exchange. While the December figure declined slightly 5.4 % sequentially from November, the overall annual performance remained strong. Paradise Co’s full-year 2025 casino sales climbed about 9.9 % over 2024, demonstrating sustained growth in a competitive market environment.
Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) have dismantled a criminal ring involved in using counterfeit casino chips to defraud gamblers, arresting four men who admitted participating in the scheme. Officers seized 128 fake chips, each marked with a HK$10,000 denomination, during coordinated actions at casinos in Cotai and the New Port area. Three gamblers reported losses totalling around HK$210,000 from exchanging the bogus chips for cash, though the casinos themselves did not record direct losses as a result of the fraud.
Estoril-Sol, Portugal’s leading land-based casino operator, has declined to participate in the public tender for the casino concession in Póvoa de Varzim, effectively abandoning its bid to retain the licence for the property. The company’s subsidiary, Varzim Sol – Turismo, Jogo e Animação, SA, did not submit a proposal by the deadline, according to a filing with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM). As a result, Estoril-Sol has temporarily retained operating rights through a government-approved extension, while authorities evaluate bids from other interested parties.
Author: Janice Chew • Monday, 05/01/2026
