New Jersey gaming regulators have advised that MGM Mirage should be “directed to disengage” from its Macao joint venture partner, the daughter of gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, a filing by the casino giant says.

The recommendation by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is the first by a US regulator to go against Pansy Ho, who has a 50 per cent stake in the $1.25bn MGM Grand Macau. The casino opened in Macao, the Chinese special administrative region, in December 2007 and has been struggling financially.

MGM Mirage's partnership with Ms Ho was approved by regulators in four other US states – Nevada, Illinois, Michigan and Mississippi – where the company operates casinos. Failure to secure New Jersey's blessing could jeopardise the licence of its Borgata casino in Atlantic City.