Macau’s Executive Council recently proposed new amendments to the gaming law that would prohibit some entities from extending credit to players, and also fine concessionaires if their gaming partners break the law.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the latest amendment would allow casino concessionaires and the city’s remaining junkets to extend credit. But sub-concessionaires and so-called management companies, which operate satellite casinos under the license of a concessionaire, would be barred from offering credit. However, the penalties for breaking the rules also apply to concessionaires and junkets and include fines of up to MOP$5 million (US$615,000).
The amendment would also empower Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) to oversee how concessionaires and junkets handle their credit operations. The clause states that “the supervisory staff of DICJ can perform supervisory duties at any time and without prior notice.
“When they (the monitoring officers) properly identify themselves, the entity must allow the monitoring officers access to the site where the monitoring is to be carried out and allow them to complete their monitoring work,” the proposed law reads.
The bill, known as General Obligations of Credit Entities, contains three key provisions, per IAG: the concessionaire or junket must establish “an appropriate system of credit risk control and to conduct credit business in a prudent manner”; “establish a clear system of credit activity records and to put in place security measures for data protection”; and “establish an effective and sound mechanism for handling customer complaints.”
The Macau Executive Council first announced amendments to the credit law on April 21. The measure has now gone to the Legislative Assembly “for scrutiny and voting, and is still in draft form,” said DICJ Director Adriano Marques Ho last month. “The bill confirms that the only credit entities are the concessionaire and the gaming junkets, and that management companies will no longer be credit entities.”
In addition to fines, GGRAsia reports, breaching the law could mean a license suspension of one to 12 months. The new law is expected to take effect next January 1.
