At a press conference Macau’s Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said gaming-related crimes rose by 33.6% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2015. Cases of unlawful detention, typically associated with loan sharks, were up 135% to 308 in the same period he said, while cases of usury (unlawful money lending) rose 36% to 240.
In an interview published by Bloomberg, meanwhile, Macau Junket Operators’ Association president Kwok Chi Chung said his members are now only able to collect 20 to 30% of their debts, compared to 70% repaid promptly in 2013. “With a longer payback period, junkets have less money to lend to new customers, and the business size is shrinking accordingly,” Kwok was quoted as saying.
Junket operators arrange trips to casinos for high rollers, and extend gambling credit in return for a percentage of the revenue they bring in. Chinese president Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption has hit the operators hard, not only because it has dampened the flow of rich gamblers into Macau, but also because it has disrupted the cross-border underground banking system they rely on for liquidity.
While Macau’s gross gaming revenue fell by roughly a third in 2015, the turnover of junket operators over the year has dropped by about a half.
