Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Macau ruling to hasten VIP market decline

November 25, 2021

Good morning. The ruling from Macau’s highest Court – that Wynn Macau and Dore Entertainment were jointly responsible for HK$6 million owed to a VIP player – poses an “existential dilemma” for Macau junket operators. Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting alerts that “the concessionaires, in becoming liable for any and all actions of the junkets, would either have to ensure the latter conform to all their internal controls, compliance and procedures or cease to deal with them altogether.”

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in North America from the AGB Team.

What you need to know

The outlook for Asia Pacific’s gaming industry remains challenging next year, with a return to full visitation and pre-pandemic revenues not seen until 2023, or 2024, Fitch Ratings forecasts.
Estimates for Macau’s gross gambling revenue next year have been cut for a sixth time since the pandemic by analysts at J.P. Morgan, which says other brokerage firms are likely to follow.
Covid-19-related travel restrictions, and the resultant slow recovery in gross gaming revenue will remain the biggest near-term threat for Macau casino operators, according to S&P Global Ratings.

On the radar

Wynn Macau says seeking legal advice on Dore court ruling, accepts judgement as final
Jeju Shinhwa no longer accepting voluntary retirement, unpaid leave applications
New Zealand to reopen to vaccinated international travellers from April 30th
Singapore and Malaysia will be opening up their land-borders on Nov 29

What the papers say

S. Korean police arrest 130 in illegal gambling ring that bet $109b over two-and-a-half years
NZ Lotto seeks new supplier for Instant Kiwi scratch tickets
U.S. sends 4.1 million Covid vaccine doses to Vietnam

AGB Intelligence

ON THE GROUND

Macau court ruling to speed decline of the VIP market

Macau’s highest court has dealt a significant blow to the city’s ailing VIP market in a ruling that is likely to hasten the demise of the sector, says Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting. The Court of Final Appeal upheld a lower court verdict saying that Wynn Macau and Dore Entertainment were jointly responsible for HK$6 million owed to a VIP player. “This poses an existential dilemma for Macau junket operators,” Lee said. “The concessionaires in becoming liable for any and all actions of the junkets would either have to ensure the latter conform to all their internal controls, compliance and procedures or cease to deal with them altogether.”