China’s proposed new extraterritorial gambling punishments spell further trouble for Asia’s junket operators, whose business was already on the decline.

This week, China’s state-run media reported plans by the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to amend the nation’s gambling laws to criminalize the “organizing and soliciting by casinos abroad,” with as-yet-unspecified punishments for individuals or entities that attempt to lure mainland gamblers.  

While the consensus is that this amendment wouldn’t apply to casinos in Macau, a special administrative region of China, it would undoubtedly apply to casino or online gambling operators based in the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia and other regional gaming hotbeds.

That would put further pressure on the region’s junket operators, many of which spent the past few years redirecting their VIP gambling customers to casinos outside Macau that offered more favorable gaming tax rates, which meant greater commissions for junkets.