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Following recent anti-crime operations and casino inspections, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) is intensifying its efforts on busting unlicensed junket activities.
According to Macau news agencies, the DICJ posted in a WeChat statement, reporting that inspections have “revealed suspicious behaviours that indicated unlicensed individuals involved in junket activities. An investigation was launched and a warning note given that the department will ‘rigorously address suspected gaming law violations and implement measures to bar offenders from entering casinos.'”
The inspections were made at casinos, focusing on VIP rooms and mid-market areas where illegal activities such as unauthorised betting and unlicensed junket operations were more likely to happen.
As Macau’s revised junket laws now state, individuals “must obtain a valid license from the government to engage in junket business” and that each licensed junket “is permitted to sign an intermediary contract with only one of the six concessionaires and is prohibited from operating their own VIP rooms or holding revenue-sharing agreements with casino operators.”
As of June 2024, according to the DICJ, the maximum number of licensed junket operators permitted is only 50, and out of the 50, only 22 were in operation.
Recently, Macau’s courts have dealt with two ex-junket operators. In Alvin Chau’s case, Macau’s Court of Final Appeal rejected his appeal and will auction off his assets. The Macau courts also auctioned off ex-junket manager Chan Yan Hung’s assets to recover the funds he embezzled.
