{"id":251435,"date":"2023-01-05T06:22:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T12:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=251435"},"modified":"2023-01-05T11:26:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T17:26:27","slug":"macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/","title":{"rendered":"Macau Junket Ops Down 85% from 2013 Peak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some 36 junket operators registered with Macau\u2019s gaming regulator to conduct business this year, Macau Business<\/i> reports. That\u2019s down 85% compared to the sector\u2019s 2013-2014 heyday, and around 35% from pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n

\"Macau
It\u2019s not a great time to be a junket operator in Macau, where a changing market and new regulations have made business difficult. (Image: SCMP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Macau\u2019s casinos hit their peak in 2014, when gaming revenue was more than US$45 billion, triple that of Las Vegas. A year earlier, 235 junket operators registered to operate under license in Macau. Collectively, they were driving around 60% of the gambling hub\u2019s casino revenues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those numbers waned in the ensuing years as Macau, under Beijing\u2019s influence, began pivoting away from its reliance on the VIP market.<\/p>\n

Anti-Corruption Drive<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s \u201canti-corruption drive\u201d began targeting the junkets and the wealthy high rollers they brought from the Chinese mainland, where gambling is illegal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these VIPs were corrupt Party officials seeking to launder their ill-gotten gains, according to the Chinese government. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beijing accused the junkets of encouraging capital flight by offering vast lines of credit to high rollers to help them circumvent restrictions on the movement of money from the mainland. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

An arrest warrant issued on the Chinese mainland city of Wenzhou in November 2021 signaled the end of the junket model as we knew it. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The subject of the warrant was Alvin Chau<\/a>, CEO of mega-junket Suncity. Just days later, he was detained by Macau authorities. He stood trial last year on charges of operating a criminal syndicate, offering illegal betting, and money laundering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chau\u2019s arrest was followed by that of another major junket player, Levo Chan of the Tak Chun Group. Within weeks, Macau\u2019s major operators began to close<\/a> their junket VIP rooms and sever ties with their former junket partners. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tough Times for Junkets<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

These decisions were taken not just because of the arrests. At around the same time, Macau\u2019s high court determined that casino <\/span>operators were jointly liable with junket operators for deposits made at junket VIP rooms. That meant the relationship would no longer be relatively risk-free for the operators.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Meanwhile, new regulations brought in with Macau\u2019s new licensing regime on January 1 have heaped further restrictions on the junkets. The new rules mean they can now only work for one of Macau\u2019s six concessionaires at a time, earning a commission that is capped at 1.25% of rolling turnover, rather than the previous revenue-share model. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Junkets must also pay higher fees for the privilege of doing business, and are prohibited from accepting deposits from casino patrons. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some 36 junket operators registered with Macau\u2019s gaming regulator to conduct business this year, Macau Business reports. That\u2019s down 85% compared to the sector\u2019s 2013-2014 heyday, and around 35% from pre-pandemic levels. Macau\u2019s casinos hit their peak in 2014, when gaming revenue was more than US$45 billion, triple that of Las Vegas. A year earlier, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":251436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,61,13592],"tags":[13639,51],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMacau Junket Operations Down 85% from 2013 Peak<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Macau\u2019s junket sector has plunged by 85% in a decade, with just 36 operators registering this year, thanks to Alvin Chau arrest and new regs.\" \/>\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\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Macau Junket Operations Down 85% from 2013 Peak\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Macau\u2019s junket sector has plunged by 85% in a decade, with just 36 operators registering this year, thanks to Alvin Chau arrest and new regs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/\" \/>\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=\"2023-01-05T12:22:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-05T17:26:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/macau.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\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=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/\",\"name\":\"Macau Junket Operations Down 85% from 2013 Peak\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/macau.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-05T12:22:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-05T17:26:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Macau\u2019s junket sector has plunged by 85% in a decade, with just 36 operators registering this year, thanks to Alvin Chau arrest and new regs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-junket-ops-down-85-from-2013-peak\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/macau.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/macau.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"It\u2019s not a great time to be a junket operator in Macau, where a changing market and new regulations have made business difficult. 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