Count of licensed junkets in Macau in 2024 reduced from 36 to 18

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reports that there are just 18 licensed junkets in Macau, which is exactly half of the 36 licenses granted the year before. This is a sharp decline from the previous year.

Among the noteworthy licensed junkets for 2024 are Haishen Group, Hoi Seng, Chong Fat (Macau) Limited, and Pacific Intermediário Sociedade Unipessoal Lda. However, certain entities are absent from the most recent list, including Novo Clube VIP Legend.

Recent changes to Macau’s junket laws limit junkets to a maximum commission of 1.25% on rolling chip turnover, which is connected to the decline, and prohibit revenue-sharing arrangements with concessionaires. Furthermore, within Macau’s casinos, junkets are no longer allowed to run their own VIP areas.

Junkets, agents, and casino management companies are required to provide guarantees of MOP$1.5 million, MOP$500,000, and MOP$1.5 million, respectively, in order to get a license. A minimum of MOP$10 million must be established as the registered capital for gaming intermediary enterprises.

With a focus on adhering to licensing criteria, U Io Hung, director of licensed junket Pacific Intermediário Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, said that the 18 licensed junkets for 2024 have complied with the new junket regulations. He stressed that just around 15 of the 36 junkets that were licensed the previous year were really operating.

According to U Io Hung, there will be a surge of new businesses joining the market in the next years, with over ten firms already applying for or waiting for DICJ permissions. Since Macau’s borders reopened, the economy has recovered despite challenging conditions in prior years and the departure of certain junkets due to legal restrictions.

U Io Hung predicts that mass market gambling would reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024, but he issues a warning that VIP players could face challenges due to factors including economic conditions and travel restrictions. Additionally, he highlighted the potential impact of the recently passed gaming credit law, which is still under consideration by the Legislative Assembly and might further curtail junkets by limiting the ways in which money is lent. Recent years have seen a decline in the number of gambling junkets in Macau, with notable declines after the arrests of well-known players from big junkets in 2021 and early 2022.

Original story by: IAG