Macau casino junket operators are fearing the ramifications of a local court ruling on the nature of junket investor funds.

This week, Portuguese-language media outlet TDM reported that Macau’s Court of Second Instance had ordered a former VIP gambling promoter to repay an investor the HKD 2.5m (US $322k) she had given the junket operator.

The ruling, which was handed down last week, involved junket operator Cheong Wai Leng, who ran a VIP room at SJM Holdings’ Grand Lisboa casino. In 2009, Cheong solicited funds from multiple investors, offering returns of 3% per month on what Cheong characterized as deposits.

But luck wasn’t with Cheong, who ended up closing her Grand Lisboa VIP room, leaving investors high and dry. Cheong subsequently cancelled her junket license and refused to make her investors whole, insisting that there were risks associated with all investments.