MGM China Holdings, which operates casinos in Macau, recently announced a HKD60.6 million ($7.7 million) reversal in the first six months of the year concerning a joint liability with junket operators, also known as gaming promoters, amounting to HKD202.7 million which the company incurred in December 2021.
MGM China Makes $7.7M Reversal
In its latest report published on September 8, MGM China said it reached a final settlement of legal actions regarding its joint liability with gambling junkets that resulted in the HKD60.6 million reversal. The company is still on the hook for HKD6.3 million in financial liabilities by June 30, 2022, relating to the remaining cases.
Two junkets previously operating at MGM China’s MGM Macau resort had been hit with three civil cases involving player deposits. Under Macau’s gambling laws, gaming concessionaires are jointly liable for the actions and conduct of the junkets operating in their casinos.
In March this year, MGM China acknowledged it could be required to pay HKD202.7 million ($25.8 million) arising from those legal actions. The company already lost one of the cases back in February at Macau’s Court of Final Appeal.
Junkets Can’t Reimburse the Money
MGM China stated that while gaming promoters involved in the case are obliged to reimburse the amount that the company had paid to the plaintiffs, it does not expect them to do so, saying the chances that it would recover the losses are remote.