GGRAsia – Macau regulator probes unlicensed gaming agents

Macau regulator probes unlicensed gaming agents

Jul 24, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, says it has launched an investigation against unlicensed individuals that are said to be engaging in activities that are akin to a VIP gaming promoter, known as junkets. These so-called unlicensed agents were found during routine checks at the city’s casinos, said the regulator in a Wednesday social media post.

The bureau did not specify when or in which casinos it had conducted its most recent checks.

The casino regulator said the checks were aimed at monitoring the business in the VIP and mass gaming areas at the city’s casinos, and were aimed at preventing unlawful activities, such as “multiplier” bets and revenue split arrangements at VIP rooms, as well as to monitor whether those engaged in gaming intermediary services hold valid licences.

The so-called multiplier is a practice where the value of a bet placed at a table is multiplied a number of times, via a private arrangement between the parties involved. It also evades the full amount of the 40-percent tax waged on gross gaming revenue in the Macau market.

“We have identified activities that were akin to a gaming promoter, in other words, individuals that carried no valid VIP gaming promoter licence but were conducting a gaming promoter’s activity,” stated the gaming regulator, adding that it had launched an investigation into those people.

The bureau did not detail the activities conducted by those unlicensed gaming agents, but added that it would “strictly follow up [the case] in accordance with the law”. That included a casino entry ban as a “preventive measure” against those people, it added.

Several sources familiar with the matter told GGRAsia that unlicensed gaming agents have been active in Macau’s VIP gaming venues directly managed by the operators, by registering themselves as rolling chip programme players, and reselling the chips to other patrons. Subsequent to their play, these so-called unlicensed agents are said to have been splitting their rolling commissions and other forms of play rewards with fellow players.

This practice however has been challenged by increased scrutiny and sanctions from Macau’s gaming regulator in recent months, said two sources in comments to GGRAsia. Unlicensed gaming agents found by the regulator have not only been banned from entering the city’s casinos, but also had to pay fines, the sources observed.

GGRAsia had approached the casino regulator last week seeking to confirm its investigation and sanctions towards so-called unlicensed gaming agents, and the gaming venues involved. We had not received a reply at the time this story went online.