Gaming watchdog breaks silence as demands for intervention continue

Pereira Coutinho (right) attended a protest organized by Dore Group’s “investors” last week

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau broke its silence last Friday over the Dore Group embezzlement, following another effort by the junket’s investors to draw public attention to the ongoing episode on the same day.
During an afternoon press conference, attended by lawmaker Pereira Coutinho, roughly 70 investors from the group urged the government, along with Wynn Macau and the troubled company, to address the contentious issue.
According to attendees, the theft has compromised at least 70 investors’ deposits in the junket’s account, amounting to approximately HKD700 million. Nonetheless, the investors and self-described “victims” estimate that their losses might even amount to as much as HKD2 billion, much higher than initial estimates of around HKD100 million.
Many of those investment deals were found to have been sealed in varying ways, leaving some scammed investors without contracts after direct bank transfers. Coutinho identified incomplete gaming regulations as the source of the issue and blamed the regulations for not explicitly defining the legal identities of those involved in such an investment model.
Furthermore, the lawmaker also stressed that the authorities could not turn their back on the predicament, given its role in granting gaming concessions to the casino operators.
“Actually, the bureau knows whether or not the VIP rooms could conduct such a business as the authorities know their accounts while calculating the [gaming] tax,” he told the journalists during the press conference. “[The officials] know the sources of their incomes.”
In addition, the lawmaker also invoked the Basic Law, professing that the legal protection of rights and freedoms of citizens could extend to this particular episode. He called on the government to contact the investors embroiled in the theft as soon as possible to offer assistance.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau issued a statement on Friday clarifying that only preauthorized credit institutions are allowed to run businesses involving public savings and funding. The bureau also said that the existing law only recognized shareholders and executives whose engagement in the junket business has been approved through a scrutiny.
Last week, both Wynn and the junket operator downplayed their roles in the high-profile scam after making headlines the week before, but the latter was accused of denying investors’ withdrawal requests. Some found their accounts frozen by the group despite deposited funds remaining intact, while others claimed that a portion of their money went missing from within the accounts.
The lawmaker cautioned that such an episode, if left unaddressed by the government, would tarnish the region’s reputation as an internationally-
renowned gambling hub.  He also believed that with appropriate handling, this matter could deliver the message to foreign investors that Macau is a city with sound and transparent legal practices.

ggr to drop in september

Macau’s gross gaming revenue is expected to drop again in September. According to a forecast made by Lusa, local casinos may close the month of September with revenues between MOP18.1 billion and MOP18.6b.

Junket doesn’t owe Wynn money, spokesman says

Wynn Resorts spokesman Michael Weaver reiterated on Friday that Dore does not owe the company any money. A Dore employee confirmed via telephone that the company lodged the statement in the Macao Daily newspaper on September 17 – as the Times reported on Friday – and declined to comment further.
The incident comes after a 15-month drop in Macau’s casino revenues as China’s anti-corruption crackdown and a slowing economy kept high rollers at bay. The so-called junket operators – the middlemen who provide betting credit to the high-end players – have been closing their exclusive gambling rooms amid the downturn.