Possibly only a “couple” of Macau’s VIP gaming promoters or ‘junkets’ will be left in the local market in future, as the sector continues to face significant headwinds not only from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel and tourism, but also because of the Chinese central authorities’ concern about gambling activities outside the country’s borders, an industry insider has told GGRAsia.
There is a variety of opinion among scholars and legal experts about whether China’s criminalisation of anyone assisting “cross-border gambling”, that came into effect on March 1, is meant to cover gambling in Macau, a special administrative region of China.