{"id":105609,"date":"2019-05-22T17:31:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T00:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=105609"},"modified":"2019-05-22T17:31:01","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T00:31:01","slug":"leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Junket Operator Suncity Group Eyes Macau Casino License"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asia\u2019s largest junket operator, Suncity Group, would bid for a Macau gaming license should the opportunity arise, its chief investment officer said this week.<\/p>\n

\"Suncity\"
Junket billionaires: Suncity Group founder Alvin Chau (left) and chief investment officer Andrew Lo would jump at the chance to operate a casino in Macau, despite the lack of transparency around the 2022 relicensing process. (Image: South China Morning Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa<\/em>, Andrew Lo Kai Bong said he believes Suncity could be competitive in the world\u2019s biggest gaming market but noted Macau authorities had yet to divulge plans for the enclave’s first ever relicensing process, which is due to take place in 2022.<\/p>\n

Suncity has been busy diversifying its business beyond facilitating trips for Chinese high rollers and lending them money to gamble in the VIP rooms it controls on behalf of Macau\u2019s biggest casino operators.<\/p>\n

The company has moved into casino operations, with a massive $4 billion casino<\/a> in the pipeline in Vietnam, and is looking at the Philippines, Cambodia, and Japan for opportunities to create the next phase of its planned casino empire.<\/p>\n

Stricter regulations in Macau — and on the junket industry especially — were implemented from 2014, when Beijing\u2019s \u201canti-corruption\u201d crackdown turned its attention to the enclave, and forced Suncity to look to other markets. Some 30 percent of the group\u2019s revenue now comes from jurisdictions outside Macau, compared with just 10 percent in 2014.<\/p>\n

Beyond Macau<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Suncity said this week it expected betting volume in Macau to drop by ten to 15 percent in the second half of the year, citing a weakened Chinese economy, the escalating trade war with the United States, and even Macau\u2019s smoking ban, as reasons for damp VIP sentiment.<\/p>\n

\n

Union Gaming analysts Grant Govertsen and John DeCree wrote in a note Monday that \u201cthe threat is real,\u201d and that there is a \u201cgrowing realization that Macau VIP play is bleeding to regional markets, with Cambodia and Vietnam being the primary beneficiaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But according to Lo, Suncity would still jump at the chance of becoming a bona fide Macau gaming licensee.<\/p>\n

The enclave currently licenses six operators — SJM Holdings, Sands China, Melco International, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Resorts — with all other casino operators existing as sub-licensees, mostly under the SJM license.<\/p>\n

Twenty years after Macau liberalized its casino market, all six concessions are due for renewal in 2022 and the relicensing process is likely to bring reforms to the sub-licensing regime, possibly creating more primary licenses<\/a>. But for now, Macau\u2019s government is keeping mum.<\/p>\n

Are Junkets Run by Triads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Suncity rose to the top of a triad-infiltrated junket industry that exploded into a multi-billion-dollar market with the liberalization of Macau\u2019s gaming laws in the early 2000s, although there is no evidence the company has links to organized crime.<\/p>\n

The extent of triad influence on the current and more strictly regulated market is unclear.<\/p>\n

Research by academics at Hong Kong\u2019s City University undertaken between 2012 and 2015 concluded that \u201cthe VIP-room operations are still dominated by triads,” but they have \u201creadjusted their traditional intrusive role and reinvented harmonious business strategies to suit the market reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May 2017, Lo survived an apparent assassination attempt when he and his chauffeur were attacked by two suspected triad members wielding knives.<\/p>\n

Lo escaped unscathed, while his driver suffered knife wounds to his hands as he tried to defend himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asia\u2019s largest junket operator, Suncity Group, would bid for a Macau gaming license should the opportunity arise, its chief investment officer said this week. Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Andrew Lo Kai Bong said he believes Suncity could be competitive in the world\u2019s biggest gaming market but noted Macau authorities had yet to divulge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":105610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,18,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeading Junket Operator Suncity Group Eyes Macau Casino License<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Suncity Group, Asia\u2019s biggest junket operator, would bid for Macau casino license given the chance, says chief investment officer Andrew Lo Kai Bong.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leading Junket Operator Suncity Group Eyes Macau Casino License\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Suncity Group, Asia\u2019s biggest junket operator, would bid for Macau casino license given the chance, says chief investment officer Andrew Lo Kai Bong.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-23T00:31:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/suncity.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/\",\"name\":\"Leading Junket Operator Suncity Group Eyes Macau Casino License\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/suncity.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-23T00:31:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-23T00:31:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Suncity Group, Asia\u2019s biggest junket operator, would bid for Macau casino license given the chance, says chief investment officer Andrew Lo Kai Bong.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/leading-junket-operator-suncity-group-eyes-macau-casino-license\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/suncity.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/suncity.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Junket billionaires: Suncity Group founder Alvin Chau (left) and chief investment officer Andrew Lo would jump at the chance to operate a casino in Macau, despite the lack of transparency around the 2022 relicensing process. 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