Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) no longer has any agreements with VIP junket operators, Vice Chairman Francis Lui Yiu Tung said at the company's press conference on its 2021 fourth quarter financial results on Wednesday, February 23, 20221. Lui said the group had already shifted its focus to the premium mass market in recent years1.
"As for VIP lounges and junket operators, I think this is an issue of grave concern for everyone but I can tell you that our group no longer has any junket operations."
Lui also said: "At the moment we no longer have any business with junket operators or the so called VIP lounges"1. Sands China, Melco Resorts and Wynn Macau have also confirmed they terminated agreements with VIP promoters since December 2021, according to the report1. The decisions followed increased regulatory oversight of VIP junket promoters and the arrests of Alvin Chau and Levo Chan, heads of the city's two largest junket groups, Suncity and Tak Chun1.
GEG's total gross gaming revenue on a management basis in 2021 was HK$17.3 billion, up 51 percent year-on-year, with mass up 83 percent to HK$11.2 billion and VIP up 11 percent to HK$5.5 billion1. Lui said the reduction in VIP business had no impact on the group's results or revenue, and that GEG was the first operator to return to profit in 2021 and was able to pay dividends1.
Macau's draft gaming law bill, approved by the Legislative Assembly and under committee-level evaluation before a final vote, would allow gaming promoters to operate with only one concessionaire, ban junkets from using third parties except in limited situations, and require concessionaires to submit details of commissions paid to junkets by the 10th of each month1. It also requires any casino in Macau to be established in an asset owned by a concessionaire, with a three-year transitional period for properties holding casinos under service agreements to tie themselves to one of six future concessions1. About 18 satellite casinos currently operate in the city, mostly under SJM's license1. Lui said it was "too early to say" how the three City Club casinos operating under GEG's license, Waldo Casino, President Casino and Rio Casino, would operate in future1.
What it means for players
VIP rooms and junket-run lounges at Galaxy properties in Macau are no longer part of GEG's business, so players who previously arranged high-limit play through a junket at those venues have no such channel there1. The same applies at Sands China, Melco Resorts and Wynn Macau properties, which have confirmed terminations since December 20211. Mass and premium mass floors, which generated the bulk of GEG's 2021 revenue, are unaffected by the junket exits described in the report1. For general entry rules and what is playable inside Macau's casinos and integrated resorts, and for the wider picture of gambling in Macau, those guides cover the practical basics.
What happens next
The draft gaming law bill remains under committee-level evaluation before a final version goes to the floor for a vote1. Once the bill passes, junket agreements with concessionaires concerning VIP room activities would still be allowed if they "fulfill all legal requirements," per a 2021 statement by Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong cited in the report1. A three-year transitional period would apply for entities behind casino-holding properties operating under service agreements to align with one of six future concessions1. GEG said it hoped the first Phase 3 offerings at Galaxy Macau could open "by the end of this year or beginning of 2023," with construction "basically completed" and the group working with government departments on permits1.
