GGRAsia – Two junkets now working at Galaxy Macau VIP gaming zone

Two junkets now working at Galaxy Macau VIP gaming zone

Sep 07, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Yinzuan Club, a high-stakes table game zone at Macau casino resort Galaxy Macau, has from August been hosting a second licensed local junket, GGRAsia has been able to confirm, based on a site visit and corroboration by industry sources.

The newcomer is Sheng Feng – Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada. In Macau, licensed junkets are officially known as “gaming promoters” and are permitted to provide credit to players for VIP gambling. Sheng Feng had previously been partnering with another Macau operator, MGM China Holdings Ltd, according to industry sources.

Yinzuan Club (sign pictured) is at an upstairs level in the “VIP East” wing of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s flagship Cotai property, near the Diamond Lobby.

The first junket in that zone – United Promotor de Jogo Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada – started gaming-promotion business there in mid-June.

GGRAsia has approached Galaxy Entertainment seeking comment on the addition of a junket at Galaxy Macau, and asking if more junkets would also be hosted at Yinzuan Club.

Kevin Kelley, chief operating officer, Macau, for Galaxy Entertainment, had told GGRAsia in July that the group was “exploring a few more” junket partners as gaming business started to ramp up in the post Covid-19 period. Though he noted that the mass and premium-mass gambling segments were the “most robust” so far during the market’s recovery.

JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd nonetheless noted in Friday commentary that market-wide, VIP gross gaming revenue (GGR) in August “edged up to 28 percent to 29 percent” of pre-Covid-19 levels. That was an improvement from the 23 percent to 24 percent recovery rate for VIP GGR in the second quarter.

Macau’s junket sector had dramatically reduced in network size and play volume in recent years, coinciding with the arrest of the founding bosses of two big junket brands: Suncity Group and Tak Chun Group.

The new regulatory framework for Macau gaming includes fresh rules for establishing and operating junkets. Each Macau gaming promoter is now only allowed to work with a single Macau casino concessionaire.

As of July 18, Macau had 36 registered gaming promoters, according to data from the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.