Junket operators are middlemen who bring in high rollers, individually or as a group, to the casinos.
Often, these gaming promoters throw in free flights, hotel stays, entertainment, and food to these players, in return for them spending a certain period of time or money at the tables. They also extend credit to these players to entice them to gamble, as well as handle debt collection.
Casinos then pay these junket operators a commission, based on the turnover of the players they bring in. Some of these players can wager up to tens of millions of dollars per trip.
Junkets can help casinos reach VIP players in markets where they have limited marketing reach. They can also be highly lucrative for casinos. In Macau, for instance, junket players account for some 70 per cent of gaming revenue.
But some junket operators have also been alleged to be linked to organised crime or that they use threats and violence to collect gambling debts. Others are said to be engaged in or facilitate illegal activities, such as money laundering or engaging in side-betting with the players they bring in.
Side-betting refers to private wagers between a junket operator and the player on games at the casino tables.
>>>
The authority also does not intend to let junkets dominate the gaming business here and vowed to take a "cautious approach" to ensure criminal activities, which junket operators have been linked with, do not creep into the Republic's casinos.
Under the new regulations, junket operators cannot share commission payments from the casino with unlicensed persons, so as to prevent "sub-junkets". This refers to licensed operators giving a cut of their commission to others who bring in high-rollers in his name.
The CRA can also suspend a licensed junket operator if he is deemed to be no longer suitable to continue bringing gamers to the casino. For example, when he is being probed for regulatory breaches or criminal offences, such as knowingly aiding crooks in laundering money in the casino.
While there is no cap on the number of licences it can issue, the CRA can also stop granting junket promoter licences "should it be in the public interest to do so".
Yesterday, the regulator issued Mr Huang Yu Kiung and Mr Low Chong Aun - both Malaysian operators with an international client base - with junket promoter licences to operate at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Their licences are valid for only a year before they are up for renewal. Twelve other applicants were rejected, and the CRA is still reviewing other applications, although it would not specify how many.
It is estimated that there have been more than 20 applications for these licences since 2010, and all were endorsed by RWS.
In response to Today's queries, a RWS spokesperson said the addition of business from overseas VIPs brought in by junket operators "will bring a progressive new source of high net-worth play into (their) gaming environment".
He added: "This will bring economic benefits for both RWS and Singapore. RWS will work closely with the authorities to comply with Singapore's junket regulations in its execution."
A Marina Bay Sands (MBS) spokesperson said: "We are interested in learning more but we will not be providing further comments at this time."
The enhanced regulations place more responsibility on the casino operator to keep watch and alert the authorities of any illicit conduct on the part of the junket operators. The operator must carry out its own due diligence checks on the suitability of an applicant to be a junket operator, such as his track record and financial history, before endorsing him.
Junket operators themselves also have to keep detailed records of their clientele, such as their date and time of arrival at the casino, as well as the amount and type of any commission or rebate given to each player.
Also, junket operators can only bring in foreign high-rollers, and not locals. To reflect this, the CRA is calling junket operators "international market agents (IMAs) to more accurately describe what these agents do", said CRA chief executive Lau Peet Meng.
Still, gaming analyst Jonathan Galaviz wondered if it was necessary for junkets to be allowed here. Both MBS and RWS have posted record-breaking profits and recently announced their first dividend payouts less than two years after they started operations.
"Casino gaming revenues are already at record levels and adding junket operators to the mix seems to be quite unnecessary at this stage," said Mr Galaviz. "Singapore must protect its reputation as a transparent and well-regarded centre of finance. The entrance of junket operators into the Singapore market must be carefully monitored and highly regulated."
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
WebRep
currentVote
noRating
noWeight
No comments:
Post a Comment