The head of junket operator Suncity Group, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, has stated to the Chinese-language newspaper Hong Kong Economic Journal that VIP gaming revenues in Macau would likely drop by 15 per cent year-on-year in the current quarter and by 20 per cent year-on-year in the last three months of this year.
The first half of the year saw the VIP sector generate MOP71.8 billion (US$8.8 billion), a 14.5 per cent year-on-year drop from the same period of last year, while overall gaming revenues dropped by a slight 0.5 per cent year-on-year to MOP149.50 billion.
According to Chau, Chinese central authorities are actively cracking down on credit loans, with VIP mainland gamblers having reduced their lending through intermediaries and avoiding coming to gamble in Macau out of fear of a possible investigation by authorities.
Capital transfer restrictions, the devaluation of the RMB and the slowdown of the Chinese economy on the back of the US-China trade war were also said to have led to an increase in the time required for gamblers to repay their loans.
Analysts have previously indicated Chinese and local authorities are looking to further restrict and control cross-border gambling and online gaming/proxy betting operations by junket operators, which has contributed to a downward trend in VIP results.
