Gaming watchdog caps casino-junket partnerships at 50 for 2024

This move aims to bring greater control and oversight to the industry under a law passed last year.

Notably, Sands China and SJM Holdings have been granted the highest number of high-roller promoters, with each allowed to work with up to 12 junkets in 2024.

MGM China Holdings and Melco Resorts & Entertainment follow closely behind, with eight partnerships each for the next year. Galaxy Entertainment Group and Wynn Macau will have the opportunity to cooperate with five licensed junket companies.

The restrictions come at a time when the junket sector is experiencing notable changes. This year, only 36 companies have registered with the city’s gaming regulator to operate junket businesses – in stark contrast to over 100 licensed companies before the pandemic, or more than 200 junkets during the sector’s heyday a decade ago.

However, in practice, it is believed that fewer than half of them have remained active due to concerns about profitability.

Under the new junket law, the government is vested with the power to control the scale of the local junket sector.

The law includes provisions such as capping the commission rate for VIP junkets at 1.25 percent of rolling chip turnover. Additionally, junket operators are now required to pay a monthly 5 percent tax on their commissions.

Furthermore, the law prohibits junket operators from sharing any form of casino revenue with the gaming concessionaires they collaborate with.

The gaming regulator’s website also reveals another significant change. In the coming year, a maximum of 250 agents, commonly known as collaborators, will be allowed to work in the industry – compared to the current number of seven registered agents only, with one licence currently under review.

By Aries Un