Macau introduces new bill on gaming credit imposing fines of up to $615K for breaches

Macau is taking a firm stance on gaming credit practices by introducing a new bill that aims to tighten regulations and deter potential breaches. The proposed legislation brings forth a series of penalties, including a fine of up to MOP$5 million ($615,000), for any violation of the credit law by concessionaires. The bill will reach the Legislative Assembly for a first reading on 15 May and is expected to come into effect on January 1, next year.

Under the new bill titled "Legal regime of credit concession for gambling in casinos," only the city’s gaming concessionaires and their partnered gaming junkets can serve as credit issuing entities. Meanwhile, management companies will be barred from engaging in such business if the bill is passed into law.

Central to the bill is the role of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macau's gaming regulator, which will be responsible for overseeing the credit activities of both concessionaires and the junkets they partner with. In order to ensure proper oversight, it states that "the supervisory staff of DICJ can perform supervisory duties at any time and without prior notice."

"When they (the monitoring officers) properly identify themselves, the entity must allow the monitoring officers access to the site where the monitoring is to be carried out and allow them to complete their monitoring work," it reads, according to Macau Business.

The legislation establishes a comprehensive "penalty scheme" to deter misconduct. It outlines that any concessionaire found conducting credit operations through unauthorized entities or transferring credit qualifications will face fines ranging from MOP$2 million to MOP$5 million ($246,000 to $615,000). Similarly, licensed junkets violating the regulations will be subject to fines between MOP$600,000 and MOP$1.5 million ($109,000 and $185,000).

Article 8 of the bill, titled General Obligations of Credit Entities, is also a new regulation and contains three key provisions: the concessionaire or gaming junket is required to establish "an appropriate system of credit risk control and to conduct credit business in a prudent manner," "to establish a clear system of credit activity records and to put in place security measures for data protection" and "to establish an effective and sound mechanism for handling customer complaints."

The Macau Executive Council first introduced the amendments to the credit law last month, with the latest version of the bill having now been published on the website of the Macau Legislative Assembly, where it is currently scheduled for scrutiny.

Earlier this month, Macau casinos posted their best gaming month since January 2020 in April, delivering gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP 14.7 billion ($1.81 billion), a 15.6% increase from the level seen in March, according to information from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The April period included two days of the national Labor Day holiday that extends until May 3. 

Gross gaming revenue in the city soared 450% year-over-year during April to smash the consensus estimate of analysts. However, it was still more than one-third below the 2019 level. Still, the start of the year has been strong for Macau as for the first four months of 2023, GGR is up 141% year-on-year to MOP 49.4 billion ($6.12 billion).