Changes in the junket business in Macao after gaming liberalization

Before Macao's gaming liberalization, people from Macao and Hong Kong took the active lead as junket operators to entice high-betting gamblers from neighbouring places. With the People's Republic of China as the dominating source of visitors to Macao, there have been some changes in the junket business. The qualitative research interview was adopted due to the under-researched nature of the junket business. This study is based on the institutional theory to analyse human interactions and activities structured in terms of overt or implicit rules involved in the junket business in Macao. A review of the literature and interview findings indicates that the active role played by local people appears to have diminished. As junket activities like patron recruitment and gambling debt collection are primarily conducted in Mainland China, together with the business opportunities from gambling and junket operators' preference for working with ethnically homogeneous groups, the previous active role played by local people is gradually being replaced by the Mainland Chinese. The junket business in Macao has been under the increasing influence of the Mainland Chinese. Based upon this, Macao needs to consider how to better regulate these junket operators.