A bill governing gaming credit in Macau has passed in the Legislative Assembly and will become law on August 1.
The bill, which passed by a unanimous vote in the Legislative Assembly on April 12, restricts the issuance of credit to the city’s Big 6 casino concessionaires, Melco Resorts and Entertainment, SJM, MGM China, Wynn China, Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment Group.
According to GGRAsia, licensed junkets cannot issue credit on their own but may ask a partnering concessionaire to extend credit to its players. Those arrangements would require notarized contracts approved by Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance.
Legislator Chan Chak Mo, who introduced the bill, explained that the role of junkets is only to “assist” concessionaires in serving patrons. He added that excluding junkets from issuing credit is part of the government’s “risk management” strategy. The once-dominant junket industry has declined over the past decade from 200 operations in 2013 to just 19 as of February.
Macquarie analysts Linda Huang and Howard Suen observed that gaming operators in the market “have been increasingly active on client engagement and conversion of junket VIPs to the direct VIP and premium mass segments.”
An amendment to the bill gives the city’s Chief Executive the power to terminate any credit agreements if there’s a “public interest” reason for doing so, GGRAsia added.
