35 junket operators in Macau won’t be able to renew their licenses
The new casino regulatory chief explained the operators failed to submit their accounting data on time.
Macau.- Yesterday, Paulo Martins Chan chief of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced that 35 junkets’ licenses won’t be renewed. Chan planned to implement a stricter oversight of the junket business as he declared in September. He took office on December 1st and although he did not provide a schedule for the implementation of tighter controls to determine junkets’ suitability and financial stability, he did reiterate this issue would be a priority when he assumed his position at DICJ’s.
Chan wants to “set up an honest gambling industry,” and considers these rules are essential to achieve his goal, although he does admit the junket industry “may have some difficulties” adapting to these changes.
According to Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen, the 35 junkets in question “were probably on their way out the door anyway due to weak demand.” The DICJ’s official list of junkets as of July amounted 182 approved operators. The head of Macau’s junket industry association estimated that nearly one-third of the total number of Macau’s VIP rooms has closed its doors in the past six months, as well as the gaming hub’s gambling revenue which also shrunk by one-third last year.
