From Aug. 1, 2024, a new gaming credit law will go into effect in Macau. After the proposal was submitted, the city’s legislature approved it on Apr. 12, 2024. The proposal was unanimously “yes” by 29 lawmakers.
Terms of the new law:
On May 18, 2023, the “legal system for crediting accidental games in casinos” was officially approved for the first time. However, discussions and determining details about it to pass the final approval lasted nearly a year after the preliminary decision.
There are some conditions for providing funds to business owners. Only six concessioners in the city can take the credit, and junkets licensed by the government cannot do this. Institutions that will be allowed to issue balls on behalf of concessioners will be established, so the promoters will be allowed to sign contracts with them, lend chips, and retrieve their belongings. After that, the contract will have to be approved by the Minister of Economy and Finance.
After the first approval, junkets, known as game promoters, were allowed to lend money. However, after more negotiations, the approved provision was removed from the law.
In addition, concessions are obligated to abide by the public interest, as failing to do so would allow the CEO to remove them from the program. However, it does not specify what was considered the public interest.
All concessioners are obligated to build a credit risk system and a credit history system with a smooth system to handle all customer complaints. If they fail to do so, they will be obliged to pay the increased fines under the new law. They are also not allowed to transfer their credit qualifications to others. The stipulated fines range from $2 million to $5 million.
If the junket fails to comply with the law, the fine will be between MOP $60,000 and MOP $1.5 million.
“The law stipulates that beneficiary companies must conduct risk assessments and regulate their management when borrowing money, and record information regularly overseen by the DICJ,” said Lei Wei-Yinong, the city’s minister for economic and financial affairs 파워볼실시간
Impact on junkets:
Macau’s junkets think the new law will have a big impact on their operations in the country. According to a report by Inside Asian Gaming, they asked one of its representatives about it, and they claimed: “If a new customer wants a loan, we can only refer it to the beneficiary company, but the beneficiary company will have to re-approve that customer, which can take time. This will weaken the need for game junkets. If a customer feels that a concessionary can lend, why does he or she need to go to the game junket?”