Skip to main content

Macau Junkets Seek Beneficial Regulations Matching Their Improved Management

Macau’s junket operation is among the man perks that make the gambling hub unique and strive to elevate its performance on a daily basis. This Tuesday brought the news that operators in the field are seeking ways in which they could improve their operation through better conditions including smaller gaming taxes, as well as optimization of the process of collecting bad debts.

This Tuesday saw the official start of Macau Gaming Summit taking place at the Venetian Macau over the span of the next couple of days. This major gaming conference commenced its first day of panels with several important topics, among which the VIP Gaming Industry spanning over the entire afternoon. In order to cover all aspects of the pressing subject, the afternoon panel discussion was divided into two subtopics striving to bring clarity to all participants.

Lower Gaming Taxes Could Improve Operation

It is no secret to anyone that the existing regulations overseeing the field in Macau are on the verge of major changes and the gaming law will soon have to undergo thorough inspection and update. The VIP segment of Macau’s gaming field will have to see some updates in order to keep up with the leading gaming locations around the globe.

During the panel CEO of Tak Chun group, Levo Chan expressed a popular opinion among operators in the sector suggesting that existing taxes should be reduced. As it was pointed out this move will ensure the positive direction of development in the future. Neighboring booming gaming locations such as Singapore and the Philippines operate their VIP segments under much more favorable conditions of 25 percent or lower.

The VIP segment of the Philippines industry operates under a 7-percent tax applied on Filipino VIP players and 15 percent on foreigners engaging in VIP gambling. In the meantime, Singapore, renown for its thriving gaming field has implemented a mere 12-percent tax on VIP gaming. At the moment the gaming field of Macau has established gambling taxes of 35 percent of the gross gaming revenue generated. Furthermore, operators are obliged to pay some additional 4 percent.

Bad Debts Remains a Serious Issue

Another issue worth mentioning and discussing during this panel was the so-called bad debts and whether or not they could be implemented in the tax deduction. This suggestion was made by Tak Chun CEO again, adding that the authorities could further facilitate the collection of debts. They are generated through the act of VIP gaming, as money lending to high roller players is a common practice among junket operators.

Loan issuance regulations in the gaming field remain vague, as many influential players often opt for utilizing their liaisons in order to obtain a large amount of cash money for gaming. Once a said individual with a bad debt is no longer within the borders of the jurisdiction, debt collection becomes even harder to achieve. At the moment the field has as many as 109 individual junket operators, which have managed to claim their spots throughout years and years of operation, proving their strength and reliability.

It could be recalled that back in January 2013 the field had some 235 junket operators developing with the help of a license issued by the Macau government. Paulo Martins Chan, Director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, stated that as confirmed via inspections on a regular basis, junket operators currently facing the field have managed to elevate their performance and nowadays VIP players are able to receive much more proficient services.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
»