Macau’s junket market continues to shrink. Over the past year, the number of licensed junkets has decreased by 8.3%, marking the sixth year in a row that there has been a decline in the legal gaming promoters. There are now only 100, compared to 109 seen in January of last year.

The Gaming and Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ, for its Portuguese acronym) released its updated list of junkets yesterday in Macau’s Official Gazette, a report it produces annually in January. Looking back over the past several years, the current number is less than half that seen in 2013, when 235 junkets were operating under license.

The DICJ didn’t offer a reason for the decline; however, it could be due to continued losses the junkets have seen over the past several years. The gambling industry in Macau suffered a two-year recession that hurt the junkets’ bottom line and they reportedly have yet to be able to fully recover. Many turned to the government last year, asking for tax breaks and assistance in collecting outstanding gambling debts.

Macau is now actively working to better define the junket market. A bill was introduced earlier this month that, while still undergoing revisions, would raise the capital deposit for new licensed junkets to $1.23 million. The government is also set to introduce new “severe penalties” on unregulated capital deposits made by operators in the junket sector.