Suncity Group Holdings, the embattled gambling group, has shut down all VIP gaming rooms in Macau, the world's largest gambling center, according to two sources with firsthand knowledge of the situation.
The world-famous gambling hub's largest junket operator will cease paying some of its staff starting Dec. 1, according to sources who asked not to be identified because they are not permitted to talk publicly.
The closing of the company's VIP rooms will result in a reduction of around 75% of the company's Macau manpower, a senior casino executive who declined to be identified because the closure has not been publicly disclosed, said.
Suncity Group did not immediately reply to a request for comment after its shares were halted from trading on Wednesday.
Suncity earlier stated that it intended to keep two of its VIP Clubs operating at Galaxy Entertainment Group's casinos in Galaxy Macau and StarWorld, but the business later acknowledged that those locations would also close.
Suncity Group has long operated VIP gambling clubs at each of the bustling city's six casino gaming concessionaires, at one time in 2019 operating 17 clubs throughout Macau and accounting for approximately 45% of the city's VIP market.
However, the company's future is now in doubt following Alvin Chau's arrest and detention by the Macau Judiciary Police for alleged criminal association, illegal gaming, and money laundering.
MGM China plummeted more than 4% in a day of harsh trading for the city's top casinos, while Wynn Macau was down 6.5% and Galaxy Entertainment Group fell 2.5%. Sands China declined 5.2%, while SJM sank nearly 3.4%.
Authorities in Macau have charged Chau and 10 others with using the former Portuguese colony as a base for an illicit "live web betting platform" in the Philippines, which drew mainland Chinese customers.
On Friday, the mainland Chinese city of Wenzhou issued a warrant for Chau's arrest.
"The writing was already on the wall. However, nothing was done in Macau until Wenzhou police raised the issue," a senior executive said.
The rapid demise of an organization that once saw high rollers wager HK$180 billion ($23 billion) in its VIP rooms in a single month exemplifies China's escalating crackdown in the world's largest gaming industry.
Beijing wants Macau to diversify its economy away from gambling, and it is eradicating the clandestine junket network that accounts for about three-quarters of Macau's annual VIP gaming income of around $3 billion.
