The ranks of Macau’s casino junket operators continue to shrink despite recent signs of life in the VIP gambling market.

On Friday, Macao Daily News quoted Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) director Paulo Martins Chan saying the DICJ planned to authorize “slightly more than 120” VIP gaming promoter licenses in 2017. That would represent a double-digit decline from the 141 valid licenses the DICJ confirmed in January 2016.

Chan said the year-on-year decline was partly the result of some junket operators failing to meet the DICJ’s standards for financial accounting. The DICJ imposed tighter accounting and auditing requirements in 2015 following a series of high-profile internal theft incidents that shattered junket investor confidence.

Chan told the Chinese-language media outlet that the DICJ would conduct a fresh inspection of junket operators following the Chinese New Year celebrations. These inspections would include financial soundness tests and audits of the total value of non-rolling chips the promoters were holding on behalf of clients.