Sands China Embraces the End of the VIP Salons in Macau Casinos

Sands China has announced it is restructuring its VIP rooms at its Macau properties as the era of the junkets and VIP salons in Macau casinos are coming to an end with new gambling regulations from mainland China.

New Gambling Legislation for Macau
As a result of COVID measures, China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) has restricted all non-essential trips abroad of Chinese citizens. This affects especially the so-called “outbound gamblers”, restricting and investigating any persons that have traveled to Macau and Hong Kong more than three times a year during the period 2019-2021. Besides countering the spreading of COVID, these new rules aim to fight illegal gambling activities and have already made possible the imprisonment of two prominent junket executives
– Alvin Chau from Suncity Group and Levo Chan from Tak Chun Group.

Another thing that bides the time of VIP rooms is the new law on gaming in Macau. The new rules have effectively banned junkets from accepting deposits from players and stipulate that this is the sole right of concessionaires only. The new bill of the name “Legal Framework for Operating Games of Chance in Casinos” has been duped “the junket law” as it in effect hampers junket activities. The Chairman of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly, Chan Chak Mo, has elaborated that according to the new legislation junkets will only be allowed to bring players to the casinos and get chips.

The new legislation also puts a stop to the agreements between casinos and junkets on sharing revenue and the separate junket rooms in casinos.

Source: https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/sands-china-embraces-the-end-of-the-vip-salons-in-macau-casinos/