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Macau's Casinos After the Satellite Era: What Is Actually Open
Macau has 20 casinos as of mid-2026, down from 30. What the satellite closures changed, which hotels lost their gaming floors, and the entry rules that apply.
6 min read
Macau Travel Guides: Entry, Money, Transport, Weather, and Casino Rules
The unglamorous half of a Macau trip, cleared once so you can forget it.
Most of what goes wrong on a first Macau trip is procedural rather than logistical — a border people did not expect, a currency that looks like another currency, and a weather signal that stops the boats.
Essentials
The practical layer — sort these before you fly.
All Guides
1 guide across Macau and Hong Kong
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Macau a separate entry from Hong Kong or mainland China?
- Separate from both. Macau is a Special Administrative Region with its own immigration control, and so is Hong Kong — travelling between them means clearing exit and entry formalities in both directions, with a passport, even though neither is a sovereign state. Entering mainland China from Macau at the Portas do Cerco or Hengqin is a third border with its own visa regime. Many nationalities enter Macau visa-free; the permitted stay differs from Hong Kong's, so check both separately rather than assuming they match.
- Patacas or Hong Kong dollars?
- The pataca (MOP) is the official currency and is pegged slightly above the Hong Kong dollar. Hong Kong dollars are accepted almost everywhere at one-to-one, which is a convenience for the shop and a small standing cost to you. Casinos denominate chips in HKD. The trap is change: pay in HKD and you will often be handed patacas back, and patacas do not spend in Hong Kong. If Macau is a day trip, spend down before you leave.
- How do you get around without a car?
- Three overlapping systems. The free resort shuttles run between both ferry terminals, the airport, the border gate and each integrated resort, and they are open to anyone — chained together they cover most visitor trips at no cost. The LRT Taipa line, open since December 2019, serves the airport, the Taipa ferry terminal and Cotai, and since the Barra extension it reaches the Peninsula. Public buses cover everything the other two miss, and the Historic Centre is walked.
- When is the best time to visit, and what about typhoons?
- Late autumn — roughly October to December — is the reliable window: dry, mild and clear. Summer is hot, humid and the peak of the typhoon season, which runs approximately May to October. The practical consequence is the warning signal system: when Signal No. 8 is hoisted, ferry services to Hong Kong stop and the territory largely closes. Build a buffer into any same-day onward flight during those months.
- What are the casino rules a visitor needs to know?
- Minimum age 21 for entry, set by Law 10/2012 and checked at the door with a passport — it applies to the floor itself rather than only to placing a bet. Photography on gaming floors is prohibited across all operators. Play is denominated in Hong Kong dollars. Local access is restricted in ways visitor access is not: since 27 December 2019 anyone employed in the gaming sector has been barred from casino floors off duty, in every role from dealer to cleaner, and senior public office holders may not gamble at all. Macau residents in general are not restricted — the frequent claim that they are is a misreading of those two targeted rules.
- Is English enough?
- In hotels, casinos and the visitor economy, yes. Cantonese is the working language of daily life and Portuguese is co-official and visible on every street sign, which is a legacy of administration rather than a spoken reality — the Portuguese-speaking population is small. Menus in family restaurants in Taipa Village and Coloane are often Chinese and Portuguese only.