Tak Chun Group, widely accepted as historically the second largest VIP promoter in Macau after Suncity Group, has confirmed to Inside Asian Gaming that casino operators have begun suspending their cooperation agreements.
In response to inquiries, a Tak Chun spokesperson said the group has so far received official notice of suspension of a cooperation agreement from two operators – giving further credence to growing industry chatter suggesting Macau’s concessionaires are planning to suspend or terminate all existing agreements with junkets by the end of December.
IAG had earlier this week seen a letter from one concessionaire to a junket terminating their agreement following a directive from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) effectively banning the issuance of credit.
Tak Chun said it had been informed of the operators’ decisions on “very short notice” and providing “very limited time to make the necessary staff arrangements,” with the company planning to assist its affected staff by paying them for an additional month of salary over and above all normal requirements under Macau labor laws.
“In order to make sure that our affected staff are given more than enough time of notification, the company [will provide] everyone concerned with one extra month of basic salary from the effective date of retrenchment, in addition to other compensation benefits,” it said.
At time of writing, none of Macau’s concessionaires have publicly confirmed their intentions around cooperation with junkets.
It also remains to be seen how the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) will approach its annual junket re-licensing – or even whether licenses will be issued at all – on the due date of 1 January 2022.
The number of licenses issued by the DICJ each year has already been on a downward trajectory from a high of 235 in 2013 to just 95 in 2020 and 85 in 2021.
