Lionel Leong welcomes Suncity’s commitment to Macau laws

Thursday 18th of July 2019

Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong said he welcomed Suncity’s commitment to adhering to Macau’s legal standards, even in other jurisdictions, TDM Macau reports.

Leong made the comments during a visit to Jiangsu Province after being asked to comment on the recent controversy surrounding the Macau licensed junket operator.

Leong said the government is following up on the incident, however, he did not answer whether this commitment will become the criterion for other casino and junket operators in Macau.

“First, I want to say that, this is, of course, an individual commitment made by a certain group that wants to continue operating in Macau. Everybody knows that different jurisdictions have different laws and regulations, and (businesses) should adhere to the local laws when operating there. For Macau, the laws and regulations can only govern the operating within this jurisdiction. However, we welcome, as you said, some groups that want to continue taking root in Macau operating in Macau and even overseas in accordance with the laws and regulations of Macau.”

Last week China’s state-run media accused Suncity, Macau’s largest junket, of running illegal online gaming and proxy betting operations targeting Mainland Chinese. Chao held a press conference on Saturday to deny the allegations and apologized to the Macau government for any inconvenience caused.

An investigation was conducted by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, inspecting 25 VIP rooms, and found nothing illegal. DICJ head Paulo Martins Chan also recently confirmed that Suncity Holdings CEO Alvin Chao is not under investigation.