The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau (DICJ) announced the addition of two new gaming tour operators to the market of the world’s gambling capital. These are Xin Wei Lda and Pok Lok Promoção de Jogos Lda, both already authorized to serve VIP players in the city’s casinos. With these additions, the total number of registered operators in Macau rises to 31, compared to 29 the previous year, although still well below the limit of 50 established by the sector.
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What are gaming intermediaries and what is their function
Gaming intermediaries, known in the industry as junkets, act as agents between casinos and high-net-worth clients, primarily from mainland China. Historically, their role went far beyond simple player recruitment: they also managed credit lines and facilitated the movement of funds, allowing VIP clients to bypass exchange controls imposed by the Chinese government, which limit daily foreign transfers to just 20,000 yuan, equivalent to about $3,200 dollars.
At its peak in 2014, 235 specialized gaming travel agencies operated in Macau, a sector that then contributed up to 70 percent of the city’s gross gaming revenue.
The scandals that destroyed the sector
The decline of gaming intermediaries in Macau was directly linked to the anti-corruption campaign promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2013. Among the objectives of that offensive was the illicit flight of capital from mainland China, a phenomenon in which junkets played a central role.
The first significant blow came in 2014, when Huang Shan, a gaming tour operator in Macau, fled the jurisdiction leaving an unpaid debt of 10 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to about $1.3 billion dollars.
In 2015, the situation worsened when a cashier from Dore Entertainment, an agency that managed VIP rooms at Wynn Macau, fled with 700 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to approximately $90 million dollars.
The convictions that marked the end of an era
The final blow to the sector came with the arrest and conviction of two of its most influential figures. In 2023, a Chinese court found Alvin Chau, known as the “king of gaming tours” and leader of Suncity, guilty of illegal gambling and organized crime. Chau had defrauded casinos of an amount equivalent to $105 billion dollars in undeclared bets, depriving the local government of approximately $1.06 billion dollars in tax revenue. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
In the same judicial process, Levo Chan, leader of the Tak Chun betting network, received a 14-year prison sentence for similar crimes. His network facilitated clandestine bets that defrauded casinos of the equivalent of $4.5 billion dollars and the local government of nearly $1.1 billion dollars.
A reformed sector, but in the process of recovery
By 2024, the number of specialized gaming travel agencies had fallen to just 18, generating headlines about the definitive disappearance of the model. However, sector analysts consider those forecasts to have been somewhat exaggerated: junkets did not disappear, but rather transformed profoundly.
The 2023 Macau gaming law completely redefined the framework in which these intermediaries operate. Under the new regulations, agencies can no longer issue credit or manage VIP rooms autonomously. Furthermore, each agency can only work with one of the six authorized casino concessionaires in the city, although casinos are free to contract with more than one intermediary.
Fiscal outlook for 2025 and 2026
Although currently only about 20 of the 31 registered agencies are reportedly operational, fiscal projections are encouraging. The Macau government expects to collect 150 million patacas, equivalent to about $18.6 million dollars, in taxes on the commissions that casinos pay to intermediaries during the current year. This figure would represent a 50 percent increase over the 100 million patacas, or approximately $12.4 million dollars, that the city estimates it will collect during the 2025 fiscal year.
These numbers suggest that, while the junket sector is far from recovering the magnitude it had at its peak, it remains an active component of the gaming ecosystem in Macau, now under stricter rules, greater transparency, and considerably firmer government control.
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