Macau's Legislative Assembly passed Law No. 16/2022, the legal regime for the operation of casino gaming business, on 15 December 2022, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ). The law was signed on 16 December 2022. It was enacted under Article 71(1) of the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region1.
The law governs the activities of concessionaires, gaming intermediaries (junkets), collaborators and management companies under Law No. 16/2001, the framework law on casino gaming1.
"從事博彩中介業務必須取得博彩中介准照。"
Under Article 8, a company applying for a junket license must meet the following requirements1:
- be domiciled in Macau
- be a limited company whose corporate purpose is limited to junket activity
- hold capital of not less than 10 million patacas, fully paid in cash on the date of incorporation, with net assets maintained at or above that amount for the life of the license
Shareholders may only be natural persons with legal capacity, and 50% or more of the capital must be held by Macau permanent residents aged 21 or over1.
Article 7 states that a license runs from first issue to 31 December of the following year, then for one-year terms renewable for equal periods, and cannot be transferred to a third party in any way. Issuing, renewing and canceling licenses falls to the Secretary for Economy and Finance1.
Article 16 restricts each junket to operating within a single concessionaire, and Article 17 bars junkets from sharing casino revenue with a concessionaire in any form. Article 24 bars collaborators from conducting casino gaming or betting credit activity in anyone's name. Article 25 limits a management company's corporate purpose to managing a concessionaire's casino, and Article 26 bars it from holding management contracts with more than one concessionaire1.
Additional penalties include a ban on junket, collaborator or casino management activity for one month to two years1.
What it means for players
The law targets the intermediaries who bring high-value players to Macau casinos, not casual gamblers. Junkets must now be licensed, locally incorporated and capitalized at 10 million patacas or more, and each may work with only one concessionaire. Collaborators who assist junkets need their own permits and must be at least 21. Management companies face separate limits on how many casinos they can run and are barred from sharing casino revenue or collecting commission.
For players who deal with junkets, the practical effect is that the intermediary arranging credit, chip deposits or room and travel packages must hold a license or permit, and its staff must carry a work card issued by the concessionaire. Junkets are barred from holding other people's chips or money, and collaborators cannot run gaming or betting credit in anyone else's name. The law does not change the rules for ordinary play at Macau casino tables or machines.
What happens next
The law was passed on 15 December 2022 and signed on 16 December 20221. The sources do not state commencement dates for individual provisions, the annual caps on junkets per concessionaire, or the commission ceiling, which Article 19 leaves to a separate order by the Secretary for Economy and Finance to be published in the Official Gazette. Those figures have not been reported.
Sources1 sources
- 澳門特別行政區 政府博彩監察協調局, dicj.gov.mo
