The last couple of years has cast some doubt on the future of junket operators, or at least junkets in their traditional form. After spending years as a major part of casino services and their VIP services, NagaCorp’s chair has shared an opinion they would not be able to survive without making significant changes in their way of operation.
For years, Australia, Macau and other international casino destinations have been reliant on junkets to attract and bring in high-spending customers to local casinos. It is exactly the partnership between casino companies and junket operators that helped Macau’s gambling sector thrive. However, the past 9 years have seen the number of junkets there being reduced from more than 235 to less than 37.
At the time he took part in the ASEAN Gaming Summit in the middle of the week, Tim McNally, Chair of NagaCorp, highlighted the fact that so-called junkets are very likely to stop finding a place in the international gambling market. However, Mr. McNally also suggested that junket operators could survive in case they are willing to change their ways of operation and evolve from what they have been doing for years now.
Global Gambling Hubs Becoming Less Reliant on Junket Operators’ Services and Revenue
As CasinoGamesPro already reported, Macau is likely to see a severe decline in the number of active junkets, as the special administrative region (SAR) is entering a new phase of gambling regulation, with stricter legislation and regulatory rules aimed at reducing the former Portuguese colony’s dependency on gambling. Another large casino gambling market – the one of Australia – has also been trying to eliminate junket operations for a few years now, while the Philippine Government has revealed it expects casino operators to be responsible for the actions of their junket partners.
The owner of the NagaWorld casino complex situated in Cambodia, NagaCorp, has partnered with junkets in the past. Mr. McNally explained that his company would most likely not engage with such operators in the future and predicted that other casino companies are likely to do the same. According to NagaCorp’s chair, the way casino operators market their properties should change, and this includes taking a different approach to the casino and gambling companies with junkets.
An increasing number of casino operators has started to focus less on so-called high-rollers or VIP gamblers and turned their eyes to the mass market, seeking it as a more prominent source of money. While they once counted on high-roller customers as the best source of revenue, the recent changes in the sector, combined with the travel restrictions and lockdown measures associated with the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged them to start looking for other ways to generate profit. According to experts, it is likely that the trend continues in the years to come, with fewer casino operators remaining reliant on VIP players, hence junket operators.
