Macau’s casinos are currently home to 77 VIP clubs operating 1,566 gaming tables as of January 2021, reflecting a decline in the number of licensed gaming promotors announced by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau earlier this week.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, there are 10 fewer licensed junkets this year than 12 months earlier, down from 95 to 85, as the VIP sector continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macau’s Secretary for Economic and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, told reporters Thursday that it was an “inevitable reality” of the COVID-19 pandemic that the number of operational VIP clubs would decline with an emphasis on stability and improving service quality top of the government’s agenda.
He also recognized that visitor numbers during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday would undoubtedly remain suppressed – further impacted by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in mainland China and calls for residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
“The situation of the pandemic is flat, it would be hard to have visitors during CNY,” Lei said. “The priority is to prevent and control the pandemic in order to gain the approval and support from the Central government.”
Lei also revealed that the number of employees at high-middle management level at Macau’s six gaming concessions was 9,940 as of December 2020, as local employees accounting for 89% of the total and surpassing the SAR’s minimum expectation of 85%. Non-resident workers for the six gaming operators fell by 9,008 people to 26,102, accounting for 24% of all employee number in the industry.
