Higher deposits on the table
There’s a new junket in Macau with the opening of the Tak Chun Group’s VIP gambling club at MGM Macau. The club reportedly includes 12 gaming tables in a total of six rooms.
It’s a sign of the times in Macau, where the VIP market has rebounded. A historic decline, which began in mid-2014 and ended in August 2016, was spurred by a crackdown on corruption and money laundering by the Beijing government, and sent many high rollers into hiding. According to CalvinAyre.com, only a year ago Tak Chun announced it had “suspended” its operations at MGM Macau, as well as plans to relocate those tables to Sands China’s Parisian Macao.
Tak Chun isn’t the only junket increasing its presence in Macau. Meg-Star International recently opened its new VIP club at Wynn Macau, offering nine tables in five rooms.
Though the crackdown has eased and the VIP market has surged, Macau authorities are keeping an eye on the junket industry. The city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau recently finished auditing all 126 licensed VIP gaming promoters in Macau. DICJ Director Paulo Martins Chan said the audits revealed “some deficiencies” in “less than 10” junkets; those problems are minor, have to do with proper registration, and should be quickly and easily remedied.
According to the Asia Gaming Brief, in the new year the government may propose a higher capital deposit for licensed casino junkets.
