One of the premier junket operators in Macau may exit the marketplace for good—another sign of a sharp decline in the world’s No. 1 gaming market.
Junket operator David Group is in the process of shutting down three of its seven VIP rooms in Macau and consolidating operations in the rest. The company “will seek to shut down its VIP rooms in an orderly manner and in several phases over the next few months and will seek to collect all debts outstanding,” according to a January 15 note from Japanese financial house Nomura. The David Group itself said the three rooms closed at the end of January.
David Group launched operations in Macau in 2004. Last year it closed VIP rooms in the Venetian Macao and City of Dreams, but continues to operate rooms at Wynn Macau, MGM Macau, Galaxy Macau and elsewhere.
Nomura estimates that the junket operator’s market share is between 3 percent and 5 percent of total VIP rolls in Macau, “making it one of the top 10 junkets in Macau and representing approximately MOP200 billion (US$25 billion) to MOP300 billion in value terms.” Clients must put up HK$100,000 (US$13,000) to open an account.
Consolidating its business in fewer rooms will allow the David Group to expand overseas, the firm said in a statement. It will cease operations at Four Seasons, a property of Sands China Ltd., and at L’Arc, a casino operated by a third party under the gaming license of SJM Holdings Ltd., as well as its room at the MGM property.
Another gaming promoter, the Gold Moon Group, recently confirmed to GGRAsia that it’s closing its VIP room at the Sands Cotai Central resort, which has hosted high rollers since 2012.
