Macau casinos reopen after 33-hour shutdown during Super Typhoon Ragasa

Macau’s casinos reopened at 2 a.m. on Thursday, September 25, after a 33-hour shutdown ordered by authorities as Super Typhoon Ragasa battered the world’s biggest gambling hub, flooding low-lying districts and knocking out power in parts of the city.

The government ordered casinos to close at 5 p.m. on Sept. 23, when the Signal No. 8 was raised, evacuating visitors and staff ahead of Ragasa’s landfall. The storm intensified to a Signal No. 10, the highest warning level, for more than 10 hours on Sept. 24 before gradually weakening.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said it would exercise its supervisory powers and coordinate with all gaming concessionaires to ensure the proper reopening of gaming venues. It requires the temporary suspension of operations whenever a Signal No. 8 is hoisted.

Floodwaters in Macau’s Inner Harbour reached as high as 1.5 metres, while fallen trees and overturned motorcycles were reported across the city. The Macau Electric Company carried out a temporary power cut on Wednesday morning to speed up post-storm repairs, with electricity gradually restored later in the day.

The closure was the first casino suspension in Macau this year and the longest since Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, which also forced a 33-hour shutdown. More recently, Typhoon Saola led to a nine-hour closure in September 2023, while the COVID-19 pandemic caused closures of up to 15 days in 2020 and one week in 2022.

All border checkpoints were temporarily shut during Ragasa’s passage but reopened on Wednesday evening, while ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong resumed on Thursday morning.

Citigroup cut its September 2025 gross gaming revenue forecast for Macau to MOP18.5 billion ($2.3 billion), its second downgrade this month, citing the typhoon’s impact on casino operations and broader weakness in demand.