The second standing committee of the Legislative Assembly said Tuesday that discussion of the new gaming credit law has basically been completed, with the details will be voted on in the Legislative Assembly in April.
This comes after such discussions continued this week on the new law, which has already been passed by the Legislative Assembly. The bill, which was significantly amended in January, stipulates that gaming credit can only be extended by concessionaires and not by casino management companies such as those operating satellite casinos on a concessionaire’s behalf.
It also adds a new law regulating the contracts between gaming junkets and concessionaires, introduces a new monitoring authority and provides for a penalty system. Under this penalty system, if a concessionaire conducts credit operations through another entity or transfers credit qualifications in any form to another person, it will be liable for a fine of between MOP$2 million to MOP$5 million (US$246,000 to US$615,000). If a junket violates the relevant regulations, it will be liable for a fine of between MOP$600,000 and MOP$1.5 million (US$109,000 and US$185,000).
Committee Chairman Chan Chak Mo explained after Tuesday’s meeting that committee has completed most discussions on the bill and will sign the opinion as soon as possible. He expects to submit the bill to the Legislative Assembly for detailed scrutiny in April.
On the issue of lending, Chan said the committee has maintained the proposal gaming junkets should not be allowed to provide credit on a personal basis but can still receive a commission of 1.25% on rolling when sourcing customers for their concessionaire partners.
The restriction on providing credit has naturally been viewed dimly by the junkets themselves, with the Macau Professional Association of Gaming Promoters having submitted two petitions to the government regarding this issue.
The association’s president, U Io Hung, told IAG, “The association has not received any response from the government for the time being.”
Asked what impact the law will have on junkets once it comes into affect, he said, “If a new player wants to borrow money, we can only refer him to a concessionaire, but the concessionaires will have to re-approve this player, which may take some time. I don’t think there is a player out there who would wait a week or two for a loan approval just for gambling.”
U Io Hung added that this was another blow to the junket industry, which has been in decline since the arrests of Suncity Group’s Alvin Chau and Tak Chun Group’s Levo Chan in recent years.
“If a player feels that the concessionaire can provide the loan, why would he need a gaming junket?” he asked.
Chan said the committee had received the association’s views and would submit them to the government for consideration.
