Macau DICJ approves 46 junket licences for 2022

The regulator announced the results of 2022 applications for gaming promotion licences, which allow junket operators to attract VIPs to Macau’s six gaming operators.

It said it reviewed 75 applications, approving 46. The list of these 46 approved junket operators will soon be published on the DICJ website.

However, for the other 29, the body said it is “still waiting” for supplementary information. It added that these businesses “will be dealt with in accordance with the law after the parties have completed the documents.”

Junkets in Macau have come under heavy scrutiny after Alvin Chau, then-chairman of leading junket operator SunCity, was arrested late last year.

Authorities alleged that Chau had been part of an illegal gambling ring that created an illegal live betting platform in the Philippines, which attracted customers from mainland China via a Macau-based junket.

After this news became public, Chau stepped down from this role, though he remains the controlling shareholder of the business.

Following this news, junkets gained particular attention as Macau’s government drafted an overhaul of the country’s gaming laws. In the final version of the new laws – which was approved at the first reading earlier this week – junkets will be restricted to operating with one concessionaire each.