Despite recent annual gross gaming revenue of more than $33 billion, up more than 19% year-over-year, 40 casinos in Macau appear to have achieved these improved numbers, reducing the number of licensed junket operators.
According to official information from the Game Inspection Coordinating Bureau, the number of junket operators licensed in the former Portuguese enclave in January fell from 126 a year ago to 109 now, including both businesses and single-person companies.
Junket operators, which are partnering with casinos to attract high-value gamblers, reported Macau’s most recent 13.5% one-year license drop, starting with 235 such concerns.
The Gaming Inspection Coordination Bureau reportedly did not provide any explanation for the annual junket operator license decline, but speculated that the deterioration could be due to stricter rules that regulators have put in place since 2015.
Paulo Martins Chan, director of the Game Inspection and Coordination Bureau, says much tighter restrictions on junket operators will soon enter the legislative process. Under the following proposed legislation, licensed companies will be subject to higher capital deposit limits, and will further examine the suitability of their funding power and shareholder structure.