Singapore regulator gives casino junket licenses

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority has given casino junket licenses for the first time to two operators, local media reported on Friday.

The licenses were issued to two Malaysian operators after thorough probity checks conducted by the authority, which included face-to-face interviews with the applicants and probes into their track record and financial history.

The junket regulations had been tightened to give the Casino Regulatory Authoity more discretion in deciding whether or not to issue a licence and also how many it will issue. It rejected 12 applications for reasons such as having funds that are unaccounted for. There are applications still pending but the authority would not specify how many.

Junket promoters are third party agents who bring high rollers to casinos for a commission. They usually bear the burden of giving credit to the players, too. Local daily Lianhe Zaobao quoted analysts as saying that the introduction of junket operators are expected to boost the revenue of the casinos by 20 percent.

The two junket promoters, who are endorsed by Resorts World Sentosa, can start operations immediately. Their licenses are valid for a year.