The Executive Director of Wynn Macau, Linda Chen, has confirmed today (Monday) that the gaming operator will gradually end its agreements with third-party VIP gaming promoters companies before the end of the year, a decision she considered was “conducive to the long-term and healthy development of Macau”, Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily reported.
According to the report, Wynn’s also Chief Operating Officer and Vice-Chairman indicated that mass-market represents Wynn’s main core business, accounting for 75 per cent of its total gaming results this year, with the concessionaire focusing on developing this segment and converting VIP rooms will be converted to different “mass-market uses” and “diversified experience facilities”.
Amid the latest development of the sector, Wynn Macau – together with Sands China and Melco Resorts — was reported to be planning to close all their VIP rooms run by junkets before the end of this year.
These decisions followed the announcement by locally licensed junket operator Sun City Gaming Promotion Company Limited (SCGPCL) – often referred to as the city’s largest junket operator by analysts — that it had officially ceased operation, following the closure of all its VIP rooms in Macau in December and the pre-trial detention of its boss, Alvin Chau, over alleged charges of money laundering and running illicit gambling activities.
Gaming promoter Tak Chun – considered the second largest to operate in Macau – also announced in an internal statement that some ‘individual casinos’ will temporarily suspend their cooperation relationship with them, with workers to be dismissed.
On the other hand, SJM Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) are believed to maintain their current cooperation agreements with junket operators for now.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong also indicated today that agreements between junket operators and gaming concessionaires concerning VIP rooms activities will still be allowed in the future if they “fulfil all legal requirements” but confirmed that some gaming operators had made adjustments have been made concerning their agreements with third-party VIP promoters.
Morgan Stanley expressed in a report that they expect other operators to follow this decision and that ‘this could effectively mean the end of junket VIP in Macau, even though there is no rule to ban them’.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley have expressed that they believe more and more gaming concessionaires will terminate agreements with junket operators, effectively ending the sector in the city even without an official order from authorities banning them.
Local analysts and gaming researchers also expressed contrasting opinions to Macau News Agency on whether the junket sector will still have a role in the future gaming sector in the SAR, after the repeated ‘hits’ the sector took this month.
