Macau VIP turnover rebounds to $600m

Junket association head Kwok Chi Chung has said that a resurgence in Hong Kong visitors had helped prop up the VIP sector, with estimates that $600m was recorded in rolling chip volume in January.

The figures come despite new laws being implemented by the local government to regulate and restrain the sector, as it tries to shift consumers to a mass-centric model and rebrand itself as a tourism city.

According to the city’s new junket law, each junket is only permitted to work with one concessionaire and cannot share in the revenue of the casino, only being eligible to receive a maximum of 1.25 per cent commission from rolling chip turnover.

Kwok said that the profit of all the junkets comes from this 1.25 per cent commission. However, junkets are also now required to pay a five per cent tax on commission income, a rule that had previously been established but never enforced.

Source: Asia Gaming Brief