Singapore Regulator Issues 2 Junket Licenses

Singapore Regulators release first ever Junket Licenses

Singapore’s casino regulator has issued its first-ever junket-operator licenses to two agents, in a move that hands one of the city-state’s two casino resorts a coveted avenue to expand its lucrative premium-player business.

The long-awaited move comes more than two years after Genting Singapore opened the island nation’s first-ever casino resort in February 2010, and is seen by analysts and casino operators as vital for facilitating the local gaming market’s next phase of growth.

But the immediate impact on the gaming market is unclear, given the small number of licenses and the novelty of the junket industry.

The Casino Regulatory Authority said it has issued its first batch of one-year, “international market agent” licenses to two applicants, and is currently evaluating and conducting probity checks on other applications.

The newly minted junket promoters will be permitted to bring high-spending overseas gamblers to Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa casino in exchange for commission, and will be allowed to issue credit to these premium players.

While junkets—a linchpin in Macau’s gaming industry—do cut into casinos’ margins, they can help drive business volumes, as well as reduce credit risk and chances of bad debt, because they could be more familiar with their clients’ financial standing.

Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Marina Bay Sands, the other casino resort licensed to operate in Singapore, currently doesn’t have access to licensed junkets. Regulations require a casino operator to sponsor junket applicants before licenses are issued to them to operate at that particular casino.

Since lifting its long-standing ban on casino gambling in 2005, Singapore has established a stringent regulatory regime on the industry, including tough probity checks and licensing for junket operators.

The Casino Regulatory Authority didn’t provide the number of outstanding applications or say when those checks might be completed, but said that it has already rejected 12 applicants so far.

A spokesman for Resorts World Singapore said they were “delighted” by the issuance of junket licenses.