Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited develops, owns and operates integrated resort facilities in Asia and Europe.
The company has three major casino-based operations in Macau, namely, City of Dreams, Altira Macau, and Studio City, and non-casino based operations in Macau at the company’s Mocha Clubs. The company also has a casino-based operation in the Philippines, City of Dreams Manila. In 2019, the company expanded its footprint outside of Asia and into Europe following its acquisition of a...
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited develops, owns and operates integrated resort facilities in Asia and Europe.
The company has three major casino-based operations in Macau, namely, City of Dreams, Altira Macau, and Studio City, and non-casino based operations in Macau at the company’s Mocha Clubs. The company also has a casino-based operation in the Philippines, City of Dreams Manila. In 2019, the company expanded its footprint outside of Asia and into Europe following its acquisition of a 75% equity interest in ICR Cyprus, which owns and operates City of Dreams Mediterranean, and three satellite casinos in Cyprus.
The company’s current and future operations are designed to cater to a broad spectrum of gaming patrons, from high-stakes rolling chip gaming patrons to gaming patrons seeking a broader entertainment experience. The company currently owns and operates six Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotels in Asia — Altira Macau, Studio City’s Epic Tower and Star Tower, Morpheus, and Nüwa in both Macau and Manila.
In the Philippines, Melco Resorts Leisure, a subsidiary of MRP, currently operates and manages City of Dreams Manila, an integrated resort in the Entertainment City complex in Manila.
In Cyprus, Integrated Casino Resorts, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICR Cyprus, currently operates and manages City of Dreams Mediterranean in Limassol, and the company’s three satellite casinos in Cyprus.
Major Existing Operations
City of Dreams
City of Dreams is an integrated resort in Cotai, Macau, which opened in June 2009. City of Dreams is a premium-focused property, targeting high-end customers and rolling chip patrons from regional markets across Asia. City of Dreams had an average of approximately 430 gaming tables and approximately 613 gaming machines in 2024.
The resort brings together a collection of brands to create an experience that appeals to a broad spectrum of visitors from around Asia. Morpheus offers approximately 783 rooms, suites, and villas, Nüwa offers approximately 286 guest rooms, suites, and villas, and the Grand Hyatt Macau hotel offers approximately 763 guest rooms and suites. In addition, City of Dreams includes approximately 41 restaurants and bars, approximately 149 retail outlets, a wet stage performance theater, recreation and leisure facilities, including health and fitness clubs, swimming pools, spas, and salons, and banquet and meeting facilities. The Para nightclub offers approximately 2,232 square meters (equivalent to approximately 24,025 square feet) of live entertainment space. SOHO, a lifestyle entertainment and dining precinct located on the second floor of City of Dreams, offers customers a wide selection of food and beverage and other non-gaming offerings. The wet stage performance theater, with approximately 2,000 seats, features House of Dancing Water (temporarily closed since June 2020) which is currently expected to re-open in May 2025.
The Dancing Water Theater, a wet stage performance theater with approximately 2,000 seats, features the internationally acclaimed and award-winning water-based extravaganza, House of Dancing Water. House of Dancing Water is the live entertainment centerpiece of the overall leisure and entertainment offering at City of Dreams and highlights City of Dreams as an innovative entertainment-focused destination, strengthening the overall diversity of Macau as a multi-day stay market, and one of Asia’s premier leisure and entertainment destinations. House of Dancing Water incorporates costumes, sets, and audio-visual special effects and showcases an international cast of performance artists. House of Dancing Water has been temporarily closed since June 2020 and is currently expected to re-open in May 2025.
Altira Macau
Since the third quarter of 2021, Altira Macau has strategically repositioned to cater to the premium mass and mass segments, and has shut down VIP rolling chip operations. Prior to that, Altira Macau was designed to provide a casino and hotel experience that catered to Asian rolling chip customers. Altira Macau had an average of approximately 39 gaming tables and 134 gaming machines operated under the brand Mocha at Altira Macau in 2024. Altira Macau has a multi-floor layout comprising various gaming areas. The company’s multi-floor layout allows it the flexibility to reconfigure Altira Macau’s gaming areas to meet the changing demands of its patrons and target specific customer segments.
The company considers Altira hotel, located within the 38-story Altira Macau, to be one of the leading hotels in Macau, as evidenced by its long-standing Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star recognition. The top floor of the Altira hotel serves as the hotel lobby and reception area, providing guests with views of the surrounding area. The Altira hotel comprised approximately 216 guest rooms, including suites and villas, as of December 31, 2024. A number of restaurants and dining facilities are available at Altira Macau, including a leading Italian restaurant, Aurora, several Chinese and international restaurants, and a bar/karaoke. Altira hotel also offers several non-gaming amenities, including a spa, gymnasium, outdoor garden podium, and sky terrace lounge.
Altira Macau offers a luxurious hotel experience with its internationally acclaimed accommodation and guest services.
Studio City
Studio City is a large-scale cinematically-themed integrated resort that opened in October 2015. The gaming operations of Studio City are focused on the mass market and target all ranges of mass market patrons. Studio City Casino has strategically repositioned itself to focus on the premium mass and mass segments, and VIP rolling chip operations at Studio City Casino were transferred to City of Dreams in late October 2024. Melco Resorts Macau currently has various mass gaming tables and various gaming machines available for operation at the Studio City Casino pursuant to the Studio City Casino Agreement. Studio City Casino had an average of approximately 251 gaming tables and 709 gaming machines in operation in 2024.
Studio City also includes luxury hotel offerings and various entertainment, retail, and food and beverage outlets to attract a diverse range of customers. Designed to focus on the mass market segment, Studio City offers cinematically-themed, unique, and innovative interactive attractions, including the world’s first figure-8 Ferris wheel, a deluxe night club and karaoke, a 5,000-seat live performance arena, an outdoor and indoor water park, as well as various luxury hotel rooms, suites, and villas, diverse food and beverage establishments, a cinema, and approximately 38,500 square meters of complementary retail space.
Mocha Clubs
Mocha Clubs comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau. Mocha Clubs had an average of approximately 882 gaming machines in operation (excluding approximately 134 gaming machines at Altira Macau) in 2024. Mocha Clubs focus on general mass market patrons, including day trip customers, outside the conventional casino setting. The company operates Mocha Clubs at leased or sub-leased premises or under right-to-use agreements.
The Mocha Club gaming facilities offer both electronic gaming machines, including stand-alone machines, stand-alone progressive jackpot machines, and linked progressive jackpot machines with a variety of games, and electronic table games which feature fully-automated multi-player machines with roulette, baccarat, and sic-bo, a traditional Chinese dice game.
In addition to the Mocha Clubs, the company also operates the Grand Dragon Casino, which focuses on mass market table games. Grand Dragon Casino had an average of approximately 16 gaming tables in 2024.
City of Dreams Manila
City of Dreams Manila is one of the leading integrated tourism resorts in the Philippines. The property is located on an approximately 6.2-hectare site at the gateway of Entertainment City’s Manila Bay area in the city of Paranaque and is part of the Aseana City township development. The property is close to Metro Manila’s international airport terminals and central business districts. City of Dreams Manila opened in December 2014 and represented the company’s first entry into an entertainment and gaming market outside of Macau and an incremental source of earnings and cash flow outside of Macau.
The property’s total gross floor area is approximately 313,000 square meters (equivalent to approximately 3.4 million square feet). The company is authorized by PAGCOR to operate up to approximately 2,300 slot machines, 1,200 electronic gaming tables, and 380 gaming tables. City of Dreams Manila had an average of approximately 2,278 gaming machines and 267 gaming tables in 2024.
City of Dreams Manila has three hotels: Nüwa Manila, Nobu Hotel, and Hyatt Regency Manila, City of Dreams Manila, with 939 rooms in aggregate. Exciting entertainment venues characterize the luxurious integrated resort: DreamPlay, the world’s first DreamWorks-inspired family entertainment center, which officially opened in June 2015; and CenterPlay, a lounge at the center of the main gaming floor, which features live band performances from late afternoons. City of Dreams Manila also features The Shops at the Boulevard, a spacious retail strip where luxury retail shops that provide a broad range of choices are juxtaposed with exciting food and beverage outlets. Impressive regional and international specialty restaurants and bars, spas, gyms, and a multi-level car park are also available for guests.
Melco Resorts Leisure operates the casino business of City of Dreams Manila in accordance with the terms of the Philippine License and the operating agreement between Melco Resorts Leisure and the Philippine Parties dated March 13, 2013. Under the operating agreement, Premium Leisure and Amusement, Inc. (a member of the Philippine Parties) has the right to receive monthly payments from Melco Resorts Leisure, based on the performance of gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila, and Melco Resorts Leisure has the right to retain all revenues from non-gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila.
Having met the minimum investment levels and other requirements under the company’s Provisional License, the Philippine License dated April 29, 2015, was issued by PAGCOR to the Philippine Licensees. The Philippine License has the same terms and conditions as the Provisional License and is valid until July 11, 2033.
City of Dreams Mediterranean and Other
City of Dreams Mediterranean is a large premier destination resort located in Limassol, Cyprus. It features a luxury hotel with various guest rooms and suites, over 8,000 square meters of MICE space, an outdoor amphitheater, a family adventure park, tennis academy, and a variety of premium dining outlets and luxury retail. The total gross floor area of City of Dreams Mediterranean is approximately 86,000 square meters (equivalent to approximately 925,700 square feet). In addition, the company operates three satellite casinos in Nicosia, Ayia Napa, and Paphos in Cyprus in conjunction with City of Dreams Mediterranean.
Under the terms of the Cyprus License, the company has been granted the right to develop, operate, and maintain an integrated casino resort in Limassol, Cyprus (and until the operation of such integrated casino resort, the operation of a temporary casino in Limassol) and up to four satellite casino premises in Cyprus, for a term of 30 years from the date of grant on June 26, 2017, and with the right for exclusivity in Cyprus for the first 15 years of the term. The company ceased operations of the temporary casino in June 2023, and City of Dreams Mediterranean opened to the public in July 2023. The company’s satellite casino premises in Cyprus had an average of approximately 4 gaming tables and 161 gaming machines in 2024, and City of Dreams Mediterranean had an average of approximately 100 gaming tables and 733 gaming machines in 2024.
Pipeline Projects
The company has cooperated with John Keells in their integrated resort development in central Colombo. As part of the cooperation, the integrated resort, which had previously been branded ‘Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort,’ is to be rebranded as ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka.’ City of Dreams Sri Lanka will be the first integrated resort in Sri Lanka and South Asia and is expected to include various hotel rooms, retail, food & beverage outlets, and MICE facilities. The company’s subsidiary, Bluehaven Services, has entered into a casino lease agreement with a subsidiary of John Keells, Waterfront Properties, under which Bluehaven Services has leased an area within City of Dreams Sri Lanka to operate a casino business. In addition, the company is negotiating with Waterfront Properties on a hotel management agreement pursuant to which it will manage the top five floors of the hotel tower at City of Dreams Sri Lanka under its Nüwa brand.
Further, the company continually seeks new opportunities for additional gaming or related businesses in Macau and in other countries and will continue to target the development of a project pipeline in order to expand its footprint in countries that offer legalized casino gaming. In defining and setting the timing, form, and structure for any future project, the company focuses on evaluating alternative available financing, market conditions, and market demand. In order to pursue these opportunities, the company has incurred and will continue to incur capital expenditures at its properties and for its projects.
Land and Premises
The company operates its gaming business in Macau at the properties leased from the Macau government in accordance with the terms and conditions of its gaming concession, or, with respect to the Mocha Clubs and Grand Dragon Casino, in third-party owned properties. In addition, properties leased from the Macau government are subject to the terms and conditions of land concession contracts. Through MRP, the company operates its gaming business in the Philippines through the Philippine License issued by PAGCOR on a property which Melco Resorts Leisure leases from Belle Corporation under the Lease Agreement. In Cyprus, the company operates its gaming business at a site owned by it at Zakaki in western Limassol and three satellite casinos at its leased premises pursuant to the Cyprus License. In Sri Lanka, Bluehaven Services has entered into a casino lease agreement to lease an area within City of Dreams Sri Lanka to operate a casino business, and the company is negotiating on a hotel management agreement to manage the top five floors of the hotel tower at City of Dreams Sri Lanka under its Nüwa brand.
City of Dreams
City of Dreams is located in Cotai, Macau, with a land area of 113,325 square meters (equivalent to approximately 1.2 million square feet). In August 2008, the Macau government granted the land on which City of Dreams is located to COD Resorts and Melco Resorts Macau for a period of 25 years, renewable for further consecutive periods of ten years, subject to applicable legislation in Macau. As of December 31, 2024, the total gross floor area at City of Dreams was 641,431.70 square meters (equivalent to approximately 6.9 million square feet), of which approximately 31,227.3 square meters, or 4.87%, comprises gaming and gaming support area and is owned by the Macau SAR.
Certain gaming and gaming support equipment utilized by the City of Dreams casino on or before December 31, 2022, is owned by the Macau SAR and has been transferred to the company and held for use at City of Dreams during the duration of the Concession Contract, including the main gaming equipment to support its table games and gaming machine operations, cage equipment, security and surveillance equipment, casino fittings, and equipment. The company owns the remaining gaming and gaming support equipment utilized by the City of Dreams casino and equipment utilized in the hotels at City of Dreams.
Altira Macau
Altira Macau is located in Taipa, Macau, with a land area of approximately 5,230 square meters (equivalent to approximately 56,295 square feet). In March 2006, the Macau government granted the land on which Altira is built to Altira Resorts for 25 years, renewable for further consecutive periods of ten years, subject to applicable legislation in Macau. The land grant was amended in December 2013. As of December 31, 2024, the total gross floor area of Altira Macau is approximately 104,583.39 square meters (equivalent to approximately 1.1 million square feet), of which approximately 17,128.8 square meters or 16.38% comprises the gaming and gaming support area and was owned by the Macau SAR.
Certain gaming and gaming support equipment utilized by Altira Macau in the casino on or before December 31, 2022, is owned by the Macau SAR and has been transferred to the company for usage in its operations during the duration of the Concession Contract and held for use at Altira Macau, including the main gaming equipment to support its table games and gaming machine operations, cage equipment, security and surveillance equipment, and casino fittings and equipment. The company owns the remaining gaming and gaming support equipment utilized by the Altira casino and equipment utilized at the Altira hotel.
Mocha Clubs
Mocha Clubs operated at premises with a total floor area of approximately 68,800 square feet at locations in Macau as of December 31, 2024.
In addition to the Mocha Clubs, the company also operates the Grand Dragon Casino, which focuses on mass market table games. Grand Dragon Casino premises, including the fit-out and gaming-related equipment, were located on the ground floor and level one within Grand Dragon Hotel in Macau and occupy a floor area of approximately 10,700 square feet as of December 31, 2024.
Studio City
Studio City is located in Cotai, Macau, and has a land area of 130,789 square meters (equivalent to approximately 1.4 million square feet) held under a 25-year land lease agreement with the Macau government that is renewable for further consecutive periods of ten years, subject to applicable legislation in Macau.
The gross construction area of the Studio City site is approximately 657,879.4 square meters (equivalent to approximately 7.1 million square feet), of which approximately 28,784.3 square meters or 4.38% comprises the gaming and gaming support area and is owned by the Macau SAR. As of December 31, 2024, the gross floor area of Studio City was approximately 657,879.4 square meters (equivalent to approximately 7.1 million square feet).
Certain gaming and gaming support equipment utilized at the Studio City Casino on or before December 31, 2022, is owned by the Macau SAR and has been transferred to the company and held for use at the Studio City Casino during the duration of the Concession Contract, including the main gaming equipment to support its table games and gaming machines operations, cage equipment, security and surveillance equipment, casino fittings, and equipment. The company owns the remaining gaming and gaming support equipment utilized at the Studio City Casino and the equipment utilized in the Studio City Hotel.
City of Dreams Manila
The City of Dreams Manila site is located on reclaimed land (‘Project Reclaimed Land’). The Project Reclaimed Land was originally acquired by an entity known as R 1 Consortium from the Philippine Public Estates Authority. Under the Lease Agreement, Melco Resorts Leisure leases from Belle Corporation the land upon which City of Dreams Manila is located with a total area of 61,141 square meters, as well as the buildings erected thereon, which are classified into Phase 1 and Phase 2 Buildings (collectively, ‘Leased Premises’).
City of Dreams Mediterranean and Other
The City of Dreams Mediterranean site is located at Zakaki, in western Limassol, Cyprus (‘Cyprus Project Land’) and has a land area of 367,000 square meters (equivalent to approximately 3.95 million square feet). As of December 31, 2024, the total gross floor area of City of Dreams Mediterranean was 86,000 square meters (equivalent to approximately 925,700 square feet), of which approximately 6,549 square meters or 7.62% comprises the gaming and gaming support area.
In addition to City of Dreams Mediterranean, the company also had satellite casinos in operation with a total floor area of approximately 21,452 square feet (equivalent to approximately 1,993 square meters) at various locations in Cyprus as of December 31, 2024.
City of Dreams Sri Lanka
The site for City of Dreams Sri Lanka is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a land area of approximately 2.7937 hectares (equivalent to approximately 301,838.24 square feet) and is owned by Waterfront Properties, a subsidiary of John Keells. The total gross floor area of the gaming and gaming support area at City of Dreams Sri Lanka is expected to be approximately 180,828.29 square feet.
Other Premises
Apart from the aforesaid property sites, the company maintains various offices and storage locations in Macau, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Singapore, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The company leases all of its office and storage premises.
Advertising and Marketing
The company seeks to attract customers to its properties and to grow its customer base over time by undertaking several forms of advertising, sales, and marketing activities and plans. The company utilizes local and regional media to publicize and promote its brands, projects, and operations across a wide range of online and offline channels. The company has built public relations and marketing and branding teams that cultivate media relationships, promote its brands, and explore media opportunities in various markets. The company uses a variety of media platforms that include social media, digital, print, television, online, outdoor, on collaterals, and direct mail pieces. A resorts marketing team has been established that directly liaises with current and potential customers within Asian, European, Middle Eastern, and other countries to grow and retain high-end customers. The company organizes various targeted and seasonal promotions and special events, concerts, and other forms of entertainment, and operates loyalty programs with its patrons to increase spending and repeat visitation. In Macau, the Philippines, and Cyprus, the company employs a tiered loyalty program at its properties to ensure that each customer segment is specifically recognized and incentivized. Dedicated customer hosting programs provide personalized service to the company’s most valuable customers. In addition, the company utilizes sophisticated analytical programs and capabilities to track the behavior and spending patterns of its patrons.
Seasonality
Macau, the company’s principal market of operation, experiences many peaks and seasonal effects. The ‘Golden Week’ and ‘Chinese New Year’ holidays are, in general, the key periods where business and visitation increase considerably in Macau. In the Philippines, business considerably slows down during the ‘Holy Week,’ as well as during the ‘Chinese New Year’ and the ‘Chinese Ghost Month.’ In Cyprus, summer is generally the key period where business and visitation experience significant increases, while business considerably slows down during winter.
Intellectual Property
The company has applied for, registered, or has the right to use certain trademarks, including ‘Melco,’ ‘Altira,’ ‘Mocha Club,’ ‘City of Dreams,’ ‘Nüwa,’ ‘The Countdown,’ ‘Morpheus,’ ‘House of Dancing Water,’ ‘City of Dreams Manila,’ ‘Studio City,’ ‘Melco Resorts Philippines,’ ‘C2’, ‘Melco Resorts & Entertainment,’ ‘City of Dreams Mediterranean,’ and ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ in Macau, the Philippines, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, and/or other jurisdictions. The company has also applied for or registered in Macau, the Philippines, Cyprus, and other jurisdictions certain other trademarks and service marks used in connection with the operations of the company’s hotel casino projects in Macau, the Philippines, Cyprus, and Sri Lanka.
Regulations
There are features of the Macau Gaming Operations Law, including amended provisions, as supplemented by Administrative Regulation no. 26/2001 (as amended in July 2022 pursuant to Administrative Regulation no. 28/2022), that are currently applicable to the company’s business.
In conjunction with current gaming laws and regulations, the company is required to comply with the laws and regulations relating to anti-money laundering activities in Macau. Law no. 2/2006 (as amended pursuant to Law no. 3/2017), the Administrative Regulation no. 7/2006 (as amended pursuant to Administrative Regulation no. 17/2017), and the DICJ Instruction no. 1/2016 in effect from May 13, 2016 (as amended pursuant to DICJ Instruction no. 1/2019), govern the company’s compliance requirements with respect to identifying, reporting, and preventing anti-money laundering and terrorism financing crimes at its casinos in Macau.
Under Article 2 of Administrative Regulation no. 7/2006 (as amended pursuant to Administrative Regulation no. 17/2017) and the DICJ Instruction no. 1/2016 (as amended pursuant to DICJ Instruction no.1/2019), the company is required to track and report transactions and granting of credit that are of MOP500,000 (equivalent to approximately US$62,528) or above.
The company employs internal controls and procedures designed to help ensure that its gaming and other operations are conducted in a professional manner and in compliance with internal control requirements issued by the DICJ set forth in its instruction on anti-money laundering, the applicable laws and regulations in Macau, as well as the requirements set forth in the Concession Contract.
Processing of personal information by the company’s subsidiaries in Macau is subject to compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (Law no. 8/2005), and, in the case of Melco Resorts Macau, any instructions issued by DICJ from time to time.
The company has developed a comprehensive anti-money laundering policy and related procedures covering its anti-money laundering responsibilities, which have been approved by the DICJ, and has training programs in place to ensure that all relevant employees understand such anti-money laundering policy and procedures. The company also uses an integrated IT system to track and automatically generate significant cash transaction reports and, as permitted by the DICJ and the Macau Finance Information Bureau, submit those reports electronically.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council and PAGCOR have also released regulations and guidelines on compliance, and the company has adjusted its anti-money laundering policies for its Philippine operations to these new rules and regulations.
Established within the EU, the company’s operations in Cyprus are subject to the GDPR requirements. An external Data Protection Officer has been appointed for its Cyprus operations, in line with the GDPR. Additionally, the company has put in place processes in its Cyprus operations to facilitate compliance with the GDPR requirements governing international data transfers, in an effort to ensure that any cross-border data transfer incorporates the necessary safeguards and mechanisms.
The FCPA prohibits the company and its employees and agents from offering or giving money or any other item of value to win or retain business or to influence any act or decision of any foreign official. To further supplement the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, the company implemented a FCPA Compliance Program in 2007, which was revised and expanded in scope in December 2013 as the Ethical Business Practices Program.
History
The company was founded in 2004. It was incorporated in 2004 as an exempted company with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands and registered as an oversea company under the laws of Hong Kong in 2006. It was formerly known as Melco PBL Entertainment (Macau) Limited and changed its name to Melco Crown Entertainment Limited in 2008. Further, the company changed its name to Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited in 2017.
